Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) says it has opened DC21, its 16th International Business Exchange (IBX) facility in the Washington, DC, area. It’s also the second in the area this year (and the second in Ashburn, VA), following DC15. Between the two facilities, Equinix has invested more than $200 million in the region this year.
The two-story DC21 is designed to support both small- and large-capacity deployments. The facility will offer more than 41,000 square feet of colocation space and an initial capacity of 925 cabinets as part of its $95 million first phase. Planned future phases will see DC21 reach a total capacity of 3,100 cabinet equivalents and colocation space of more than 124,000 square feet.
The $111 million first phase of DC15 opened in the second quarter of this year with an initial capacity of 1,600 cabinet equivalents and colocation space of approximately 23,000 square feet.
In addition to the typical suite of IBX features, the facilities within the Washington, DC, area fall within one of four markets that includes Equinix Metal, a recent, fully automated, and interconnected bare metal service launched in October. Equinix Metal enables service, companies to deploy physical infrastructure “at software speed” across Equinix's platform in combination with virtual functions (see "Equinix Metal targets customers interested in bare metal service").
"D.C. continues to prosper as a key digital hub for businesses around the world despite the challenges faced with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jon Lin, president, Americas, Equinix. “Our continued expansion in this important metro creates more opportunities for businesses to leverage Platform Equinix as the central component to their digital foundation while enabling them to grow and scale at software speed."
"Ashburn, in Loudon County just outside of Washington, DC, is a central connectivity hub and critically important to the U.S. cloud and infrastructure story. Enterprises that previously did not see a need to improve networks may now, as a result of the pandemic, be open to new approaches and ready to try network hubs. This is placing an increased focus on data centers that can offer direct connections to the cloud with private on-ramps," commented Kelly Morgan, research director at 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, via an Equinix press release.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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