Guam-based telco GTA TeleGuam has broken ground on a new data center and cable landing station (CLS).
Kuam News and Pacific Daily News report the company broke ground on the new Alupang data center this week.
The 4MW, two-story 31,000 sq ft (2,875 sqm) data center, located in Tamuning along Gov. Carlos Camacho Road between Marine Corps Drive and Farenholt Avenue, is anticipated to be completed in 2024 and will be able to house up to six subsea cables.
PND said the company earlier this year received permission from the Guam Land Use Commission to build the project on 2.5 acres of land GTA leased from the Perez family last September.
"Today marks a historic achievement for GTA as the leader of advanced network investments," he said. "What you see here is an investment in critical infrastructure needed to advance all the connectivity for the island and throughout the region. Guam is well on its way to becoming a key telecom hub,” said GTA CEO Roland Certeza. "GTA already successfully operates several cable landing stations and data centers in Piti, and the development of the Alupang Data Center is part of our ongoing commitment to Guam, further supporting the growth of the local digital economy and digital transformation strategies."
GTA was founded in 1950 and today is owned by Huntsman Family Investments, the private investment platform for the Jon M. Huntsman, Sr. family. The company acquired GTA in 2017 from Japanese firm advantage Partners; Advantage acquired the company in 2010 from Shamrock Capital Advisors, which had bought it from the local government in 2004.
"Our ongoing investments demonstrate Guam's strategic importance as a global and sophisticated communications hub of the Pacific. We are committed to providing vast technological opportunities, enhancing our competitive edge, strengthening the island's infrastructure, and accelerating ongoing digital transformations in our community," GTA board Chair Paul Huntsman said in a press release on the event
GTA is also part of the SEA-US cable consortium connecting Southeast Asia and the United States via Guam.
GTA has several landing stations & data centers on the island. The company announced plans for a combined CLS and data center in partnership with RTI in 2019 known as Gateway Network Connections, LLC (GNC). That facility, completed around 2020, is close to GTA's existing CLS, known as the GTA Piti-I Cable Landing Station, where the SEA-US lands.
Etix Everywhere recently sold its stake in the 11,800 square foot (1,100 sqm) GNC facility, which offers 250 racks of capacity and up to 2MW of power. GTA owns the facility alongside 360 Capital Group-owned Asia Connectivity Elements, Inc. 360 Capital Group had previously owned a large stake in Etix's parent company.
Guam is currently the landing point for 11 subsea cables, and another four are due to land on the island in the coming years.
Founded by former Global Cloud Xchange CEO Bill Barney and backed by Hong Kong property firm New World Development Company Limited, Turbidite is looking to build a 3MW data center in Guam with eventual expansion to a capacity of 10MW.
