By: Evan Stanford

Northern Virginia and the surrounding Washington D.C./Maryland/Virginia (D.M.V.) region is a major hub for data center activity which requires exceptional levels of Internet connectivity. However, such a high volume of business activity causes a strenuous demand on local Internet infrastructure. This is especially true of underserved communities in the region. The digital divide, a broad gap in accessibility to the Internet connectivity and related services, proliferates throughout the D.M.V. region and the United States as a whole. Harbor Link Holdings LLC, a Maryland-based telecommunications infrastructure company, aims to help close the digital divide with its latest telecommunications build in Northern Virginia.

On Thursday, November 10, 2022, Harbor Link broke ground in Alexandria, Virginia, on an underground fiber optic infrastructure build which will connect Alexandria, Arlington, and Ashburn, Virginia. Harbor Link’s build will provide both local and long-haul dark fiber to add needed connectivity options in the Northern Virginia market and reach underserved communities. With easy access points and redundant connectivity of under one millisecond, the project aims to meet the high demands of the region’s business environment and anticipate further growth throughout the next several years. To reach local data centers, Harbor Link is partnering with Harbor Peak Network Solutions LLC on this project, which is building a 6-mile ring In the Ashburn region to provide easy access to the fiber route.

In January of 2022, Harbor Link broke ground on another project, a 60-mile conduit build running along Maryland’s I-95 and MD RT-97 to enhance connectivity in the D.M.V. area, which the Alexandra build amplifies. The Maryland and now Alexandria groundbreakings represent important steps towards Harbor Link’s vision to create a single, redundant, and diverse network system to bolster connection in underserved communities across Baltimore and Northern Virginia and combat the digital divide. Looking forward, Harbor Link plans for further network expansions further in Virginia, Delaware, and elsewhere around the Mid-Atlantic United States. Harbor Link’s construction in Alexandria aims for completion during Q4 of 2023.

To read the full press release, click here.