CV_MarApr_22

CORE COMMUNICATIONS Driven by demand from large cloud service providers and social media companies, North American data center leasing reached record levels in 2021, according to CBRE. CBRE’s latest “North American Data Center Trends Report” showed that there was 493.4 megawatts (MW) of net absorption in the seven primary U.S. data center markets in 2021, a 3 percent increase over 2019’s then-record level, and up 50 percent from 2020. Despite a 17 percent year-over-year increase in primary-market inventory, vacancy fell to just 7.2 percent. Occupiers in need of data center capacity in markets with low vacancy should see more options in 2022 with 727.6 MW of facilities under construction, said CBRE. However, 44 percent of this space has been preleased. Top 10 Most Active Markets Market 2021 Net Absorption Market 2021 Net Absorption Northern Virginia 303.3 MW Silicon Valley 23.3 MW Atlanta 70.4 MW Hillsboro 21.2 MW Phoenix 29.8 MW New York Tri-State 10.5 MW Dallas/Ft. Worth 28.6 MW Denver 8.0 MW Chicago 27.4 MW Southern California 7.7 MW Source: CBRE “We expect continued strong data center demand from cloud service providers and social media companies in 2022 as these firms race to build out their digital infrastructure to support demand for cloud services and metaverse and other digital communities,” said Pat Lynch, executive managing director of data center solutions for CBRE. “We also anticipate increased appetite for highly connected colocation space from enterprise users, and pricing increases and longer lead times for available capacity in certain markets due to power constraints and supply chain challenges.” Northern Virginia remained the most active data center market with net absorption of 303.3 MW in 2021 – more than four times that of Atlanta, the second-mostactive market. Looking ahead, Northern Virginia has the largest under-construction pipeline, at 239 MW. Other markets with significant construction under way include Hillsboro, Ore. (234.8 MW); Atlanta (160.5 MW); Silicon Valley (94.6 MW); Phoenix, Ariz, (85.5 MW); and Dallas/Ft. Worth (75.8 MW). Report: North American Data Center Market ‘Shatters’ Leasing Records Telesystem Bolsters Back Office, Adds Senior Leadership Telesystem has created two positions in the back office designed to give greater focus and attention on service delivery. Lori Graber has been promoted to director, service delivery – order and billing management, and Todd Crooks has been promoted to senior manager, field and network operations engineering. Graber, a board member for the Alliance of Channel Women (ACW), joined Telesystem in 2019 as the manager of sales operations, and prior to that served as the director of sales operations at NetCarrier. Graber has also served on the event planning committee, the membership committee, and is currently the finance chair at ACW. In her new role at Telesystem, she will have responsibility over the implementation, MACDs (customer moves, adds, changes, and disconnects), billing and carrier management teams. Crooks is a 22-year veteran of the Telesystem team, starting as a commercial installation technician and working his way through the ranks of the organization. In his new role, Crooks will have responsibility over equipment procurement, data operations engineering, installation technicians and the voice operations team. FirstLight has completed its acquisition of the majority of the assets of the Pennsylvania-based Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER). The transaction includes the acquisition of KINBER’s 1,800-route mile fiber network in Pennsylvania and related customer contracts. KINBER will continue in its mission to provide research and education access, investing in underserved and unserved communities, and positioning Pennsylvania to be a leader in broadband and broadband technology. FirstLight will continue to support KINBER’s networking needs. FirstLight has invested significantly in the Pennsylvania market during the past 12 months, adding a dedicated Pennsylvania sales team and approximately 1,000 miles of new fiber to its network, including builds in Allentown, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Scranton, Reading and Wilkes-Barre. “In addition to acquiring an important fiber route in Pennsylvania, we are excited to serve the prestigious, world renowned higher education institutions, K-12, government, and health care customers in Pennsylvania that KINBER so aptly cultivated over the years,” said Kurt Van Wagenen, FirstLight president and CEO. FirstLight Completes Acquisition of KINBER Assets 72 CHANNELV ISION | MARCH - APRIL 2022

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