If you’ve ever wondered where all the digital information (Word documents, databases, photos, videos, etc.) stored “in the cloud” actually is, it could be a lot closer than you think.
The fact is the cloud is a secure data center located right here on planet earth. A growing number of those data centers are in Indiana. Because they are the keepers of reams (digitally speaking) of information – some of it highly sensitive and/or proprietary – many data centers are run quietly, bordering on covertly. There are often no signs indicating what they are and certainly no ribbon cuttings or grand openings. High fences around the perimeter are often standard.
Data center operators need lots of relatively inexpensive land and below average energy and water costs. A business-friendly environment and low taxes are a real bonus. Indiana has all those things, and as a result has become a significant data center hub in the Midwest and nationally.
But there’s one more thing critical to making a city or state a data center hotbed: super-fast internet connectivity. And we’re talking about speeds much, much faster than what you need at your home or business.
That’s why a recent development in the northern part of the state is so critical in continuing to make Indiana a data center mecca. The impact of this development spreads down through Indianapolis and to points southward as well.
The Indiana public-private partnership Quantum Corridor recently completed testing and proved commercialization of the fastest, most secure fiber optic network in the Western Hemisphere with a historic transmission this fall.
The transmission between the Digital Crossroad data center in Hammond and the Chicago ORD 10 Data Center occurred more than two months ahead of schedule. With connectivity speeds more than 1,000 times faster than traditional fiber networks, the transmission raised more than a few eyebrows.
The quantum communication network directly connects Indiana to the international internet superhub in downtown Chicago.
“This technology opens West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Bloomington and all Indiana-based military installations to the fiber backbone in Chicago with complete security,” explains Ryan Lafler, Quantum Corridor chief technology officer. “The nearly instantaneous computing and communications capabilities will position Indiana and the Chicago region as one of the most quantum-capable regions in the world and will draw additional research funding.”
Quantum Corridor is the first network in North America to achieve a capacity of 40 terabits per second, making it one of the fastest Tier One networks in North America. That type of speed is the equivalent of transmitting 1 million photo files or 1,500 hours of high-definition video per second.
The network will have the capacity to transmit at 1.2 petabits per second. That is equal to 600 billion pages of text transmitted every second. Of course, there are possibilities for this type of capability that go far beyond just data centers.
“There are applications we can’t even fathom yet in quantum research and development, life sciences, quantum computing, quantum networking and quantum commercialization,” offers Thomas P. Dakich, Quantum Corridor CEO.
As an aside, you might recognize Dakich’s name. He is the brother of former Indiana University basketball player and coach, Dan Dakich, who now hosts his own sports podcast weekdays in Indianapolis. Thomas Dakich, an attorney, is well established in Indiana business circles and has accumulated a fair bit of experience developing and running data centers. Over the last few years, Dakich has been an advocate for elevating Indiana as a data center hub.
Those efforts got a considerable boost in 2019 when Indiana lawmakers almost unanimously voted to pass a much-ballyhooed law that exempts sales taxes on equipment, infrastructure and electricity costs for sizable data centers constructed in Indiana. Those tax breaks could amount to $1.75 million to $10.5 million in savings for each Indiana-domiciled data center that qualifies.
Formed in 2021 as a public-private partnership with the state of Indiana, Quantum Corridor was designed to tie Indiana data center developers and tech innovators to Chicago nearly instantaneously. Quantum Corridor received funding through a $4 million grant from the state of Indiana’s READI Grant program and with the cooperation of the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Northwest Indiana Forum.
In the wake of testing its new super-fast fiber optic network in November, Dakich says: “We are already fielding questions from space exploration ventures, (artificial intelligence) entrepreneurs and e-commerce hyperscalers (large cloud service providers) who are eager to use our network to support their work.”
Through funding and partnerships across the state, Quantum Corridor will have the ability to utilize 263 miles of new and existing fiber beneath the Indiana Toll Road to link data centers, quantum research facilities, life sciences and genome scientists and hyperscalers with before unthinkable speeds and volume.
That type of connectivity, Dakich states, is bound to make Indiana even more appealing to a growing number of data centers and other tech companies in a wide array of categories.
Adam H. Berry is vice president of economic development and technology at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. H
e joined the organization in 2019.
