Uniti Group Inc. of Little Rock (Nasdaq: UNIT) has announced a new 20-year contract with a hyperscale customer in Alabama.
As part of the contract, Uniti will construct a new long-haul route that will span more than 200 route miles, connecting data centers optimized for generative AI, and broadening the company’s reach throughout Alabama.
Uniti, which operates as a real estate investment trust, will build a multi-duct fiber system with several high-count fiber cables between Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama, in hopes of delivering on the new contract and creating capacity for future growth. This route aims to create a diverse path between the two markets, allowing Uniti customers to connect with other regional and long-haul routes, which connect to data centers in other markets.
This contract award was executed in the second quarter of 2024 and Uniti plans to deliver the fiber routes to customers in 2025.
Over the last several years, Uniti has built almost 4,000 fiber route miles in Alabama, representing more than $300 million of capital investment.
“We are humbled to have earned the continued trust of our hyperscale customer, resulting in the building of this critical route connecting two important markets in Alabama,” Greg Ortyl, Uniti’s president of wholesale and strategic accounts, said in a press release. “This contract award continues to demonstrate the strong momentum Uniti has within the hyperscale segment as they aggressively build out new AI-optimized data centers.”
In addition to finishing construction on a new multi-duct system across Mobile Bay, Uniti was recently awarded Alabama Middle Mile grant funding to continue network growth efforts and strengthen route diversity throughout the state.
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