Connectivity, not capacity, builds moats. Fiber, peering, and cross-connects decide which data centers compound value and which become stranded warehouses.
Good piece. Mostly correct. The most correct part was that the majority of people do not know, or properly understand what neutral interconnection infrastructure is. It is its own business model.
Meet Me Rooms are NOT data centers.
IX’s and IXP’s are not the same. IX is an ethernet switch, IXP is the room, or building the IX is in. These terms have been conflated and therefore debated, but if they were the same thing why would we need both terms?
The “Meet Me Street” is a real thing. Neutral splice cases are a real thing. So, not everything happens in the building. Look at Towardex in Boston.
Not all cross connects are billed on a monthly recurring basis. Many MMR operators offer $0MRC CC’s.
MRC cross connect fees are actively being AVOIDED by carriers and Hypers. Look at Lumen’s new offering specifically to bypass Equinix…
"What we're offering is a direct connection where those cross-connect fees are no longer needed. And that's disruptive, obviously, to the data center companies."
- Kate Johnson CEO Lumen
Network latency (RTD) and GPU cluster latency (InfiniBand) are not the same.
The definition of words and terms matter. Ask any lawyer.
Wow, this was such a cracking read. I’ve always thought of data centres as giant fridges for servers... but this totally flipped that. The way connectivity quietly builds competitive moats? Brilliant. It’s the financial equivalent of compound interest in cable form.
How are you seeing investors or operators waking up to this hidden layer of value?
Such a great breakdown on data centers. Interesting to see how this progresses.
Good piece. Mostly correct. The most correct part was that the majority of people do not know, or properly understand what neutral interconnection infrastructure is. It is its own business model.
Meet Me Rooms are NOT data centers.
IX’s and IXP’s are not the same. IX is an ethernet switch, IXP is the room, or building the IX is in. These terms have been conflated and therefore debated, but if they were the same thing why would we need both terms?
The “Meet Me Street” is a real thing. Neutral splice cases are a real thing. So, not everything happens in the building. Look at Towardex in Boston.
Not all cross connects are billed on a monthly recurring basis. Many MMR operators offer $0MRC CC’s.
MRC cross connect fees are actively being AVOIDED by carriers and Hypers. Look at Lumen’s new offering specifically to bypass Equinix…
"What we're offering is a direct connection where those cross-connect fees are no longer needed. And that's disruptive, obviously, to the data center companies."
- Kate Johnson CEO Lumen
Network latency (RTD) and GPU cluster latency (InfiniBand) are not the same.
The definition of words and terms matter. Ask any lawyer.
Great points here. These clarifications are super helpful.
Thank you and you’re welcome
This detailed breakdown of data center moats is truly insightful.
It's a fundamental shift in how to evaluate these assets.
Makes me wonder if these connectivity advantages will hold as AI workloads reshape latency and power demands. Thanks for the read!
Wow, this was such a cracking read. I’ve always thought of data centres as giant fridges for servers... but this totally flipped that. The way connectivity quietly builds competitive moats? Brilliant. It’s the financial equivalent of compound interest in cable form.
How are you seeing investors or operators waking up to this hidden layer of value?