Data centers catering to AI bring more fiber to rural America

Rural broadband is getting a big boost from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, but rural broadband could also get a boost from the AI-fueled data center boom — even if we don't usually think of AI and rural at the same time. Public cloud providers need fiber to connect a growing number of data centers in places like Council Bluffs, Iowa, Virginia’s Prince William County, and Midlothian, Texas. “Anywhere you build a new data center will drive incremental network construction by at least three providers,” said Frank Louthan, equity analyst and managing director at Raymond James. Louthan said fiber providers like Lumen and Zayo could benefit from this demand, and that as they extend their networks for data centers, they will create new opportunities for fiber-to-the-home. As they bring fiber to small towns, they can lease it to local internet service providers who can extend the network to residences.