Quantum Loophole, Inc., a developer of gigawatt-scale, master-planned data center sites, on July 20 announced it has broken ground on its massive QLoop network, a 43-mile hyperscale fiber ring connecting the company’s 2,100+ acre Quantum Frederick data center development site in Maryland to the Ashburn, Virginia connectivity ecosystem.
According to a press release, the network ring will offer capacity for more than 200,000 strands of fiber connecting to the Ashburn ecosystem in under one half millisecond Round Trip Time (RTT).
Quantum Loophole said the QLoop fiber-optic ring has received all governmental approvals for its two crossings of the Potomac River. The company will be constructing a network of conduits to connect Quantum Frederick’s two planned network centers on its Maryland data center campus where automatic, robotic cross connections powered by Telescent are planned to be installed.
When complete, QLoop will contain in excess of thirty, 2-inch HDPE conduits placed at a depth designed to exceed security standards. When fully deployed, Telescent-enabled network centers will be capable of processing millions of cross connects from the QLoop to the on-campus conduits that deliver fiber to each data center site on the Quantum Frederick campus, thus expediting time-to-market for customers and creating a private metro system on the Quantum Frederick campus.
In terms of community impact, Quantum Loophole notes it employs a "dig-once approach." By placing the conduits all at once, the QLoop network will be able to support future campus expansions and increase speed to market for customers without disturbing the land along the route each time.
Initial fiber availability will be 3,456 strands and with a systemwide bend radius designed to accommodate 6912 fiber, adding capacity to the platform will be both fast and efficient.
“We are building the largest medium haul fiber backbone that’s ever been created,” says Josh Snowhorn, Founder and CEO of Quantum Loophole. “And we are bolstering that with some pretty amazing cross-connect capabilities. Each property will have access to conduits and thousands of strands of fiber directly into the QLoop system to enable seamless, private and secure connectivity for all of our campus-wide customers.”
Quantum Loophole prides itself on reimagining the site selection process for hyperscale and mass-scale data center developments. The company's first project, in Frederick County Maryland, provides the digital infrastructure industry a 10-20 year road map inclusive of land, power, water and fiber network infrastructure. Pre-orders for conduit, custom fiber deployments and access to QLoop are currently available.