The Bandwidth IG team is fixated on providing high-capacity dark fiber to our customers in the markets we serve. We work hard to wow our customers at every turn by making sure they have the foundational infrastructure necessary to create amazing technologies that change lives for the better. This customer-obsessed approach was on display as the team worked on a significant network expansion project in the San Francisco Bay Area that brings 310 route miles and more than 2 million fiber miles of high-capacity dark fiber to the Bay Area, including a new and unique subsea route across the San Francisco Bay.
It’s one thing for us to say that we want to deliver both a product and service that wows our customers. It’s another thing to hear that feedback from one of our valued customers.
Matt Peterson, president of the San Francisco Metropolitan Internet Exchange (SFMIX), an internet exchange based in Silicon Valley, and one of the first customers to utilize the newly expanded San Francisco Bay Area dark fiber network, has had some recent conversations detailing SFMIX’s experience with our team. Click here and check out page 50 to learn more in his Q&A with Intelligent Data Centres and keep reading here for highlights from his conversation with Patton Lochridge, our own chief commercial officer.
PL: Can you explain how you will use BIG’s San Francisco Bay Area dark fiber network?
MP: SFMIX has deployments in eight facilities in various parts of the Bay Area and boasts over 90 participants. BIG is helping us to connect our primary data centers with its fiber ring around the Bay.
PL: We’ve been wanting to work with SFMIX for a few years. Why was now the right time?
MP: When BIG first approached us a few years ago, it wasn’t a good fit at the time because the network was concentrated primarily in Santa Clara. But you grew, and the value proposition went from having something in one corridor to including the southern portion of the Bay and closing the loop to the mid portion. The expanded network lets us interconnect our deployments at 400Gbps on diverse routes with future expansion capabilities.
PL: We know there are alternatives in the Bay Area. Why was BIG the right fit?
MP: BIG is exclusively focused on dark fiber in expanding markets. Other providers are often distracted with a dispersed service offering. BIG also has a modern, high-quality dense fiber deployment, whereas other providers have fiber that is decades old and brittle.
PL: You’ve mentioned you were looking for physical fiber routes that were new and avoid congested corridors. Why is that important to you?
MP: Most Bay Area routes cross the Bay over the Bay Bridge or Transbay Tube, which come with a couple of challenges. First, they are resource constrained. They only allow a certain conduit space, so we know if we get a quote from one of those providers they may be limited in inventory and unable to provide us with what we need. Second, the Bay Bridge and Transbay Tube are earthquake liabilities. With BIG’s subsea route under the Bay, it’s somewhat more protected.
We have to be responsive to our membership and we have a high level of scrutiny on where we spend our dollars. BIG has a unique and new path which still crosses the Bay, but at a more southerly geographical location. This gives us physical diversity from traditional paths offered by other fiber providers, which is a value to us and our members.
PL: We strive to make things as easy as possible for our customers throughout the sales process. How did we do?
MP: Not bad so far! It’s been a huge value for us to work with an entity where it’s been the same sales and engineering team. You clearly understand our business model. The team also brings a high level of professionalism and they’re very laser focused. They offered a pre-negotiated contract to expand in their on-net data center footprint, which will allow us to grow quickly as needed. The fact we know connectivity won’t be a question is big. There is not an inventory problem.
PL: With SFMIX being founded in 2006, you’ve had a front-row seat to the internet boom and have seen a lot of development in Silicon Valley. What are some positive things that have come with the growth? What are some challenges?
MP: We’ve seen a lot of consolidation of various data center operators, with Equinix and Digital Realty being the most obvious in our market. This has brought some challenges in terms of inventory, but it’s also brought a great deal of maturity in the service offering and quality. As our membership base has grown since 2006, we’ve found ourselves needing more options for increased capacity, part of which was graduating into needing a dark fiber ring encircling popular data centers throughout the region. BIG has both short- and long-term investments within the region that will allow us to expand to additional sites as demand grows.
PL: Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. We look forward to continuing to wow you!
MP: You’re welcome, and we look forward to it too!
To learn more about SFMIX, visit www.sfmix.org.