Lightpath has secured an anchor award to construct new long-haul fiber infrastructure that will connect Columbus, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois.

The route, which spans approximately 392 route miles (631km), will leverage eight LightCube data centers, confirmed Lightpath.

As part of this contract, Lightpath will be able to deliver 327 miles (527km) of new, 100 percent underground, multi-conduit fiber network across three states.

According to Lightpath, the route will be delivered in phases with end-to-end completion by the end of 2028.

Lightpath owns, builds, and operates an all-fiber network across eleven major US metro markets. This fiber network provides high-capacity, low-latency connectivity for cloud, hyperscale, data center, and mission-critical enterprise workloads.

The company notes that this route connecting Columbus to Chicago will be its second owned long-haul route, following the company’s acquisition of a 323-mile (520km) New York-to-Ashburn 864-count fiber system in late 2024.

Lightpath acquired United Fiber in 2024, taking over a 323-route-mile, high-fiber-count network between New York City and Ashburn, Virginia, as well as a 79-route-mile metro network in New York City and New Jersey. The deal closed in February of last year.

Columbus and Chicago are viewed as two of the fastest-growing data center markets in North America, with Columbus the sixth largest market globally in 2025, and Chicago ninth, as per Cushman & Wakefield's 2024–2025 Global Data Center Market Comparison report.

The route will also include eight LightCube data centers, seven of which are new. These data centers will provide colocation space, power, amplification, and interconnection along the route.

To support this, Lightpath said it aims to "provide a full range of services, including conduit, inter-ducts, multi-count dark fiber, colocation service, high-capacity wavelengths, and higher-stack connectivity services for hyperscale, carrier, and enterprise customers."

“This award marks a significant milestone in Lightpath’s infrastructure strategy,” said Chris Morley, CEO of Lightpath. “The Columbus-to-Chicago corridor reflects sustained hyperscale demand for high-capacity, long-haul fiber built to production-grade standards. Connecting two of the world’s fastest-growing data center markets on our own purpose-built infrastructure positions Lightpath to support the next generation of AI and cloud workloads at scale.”

Lightpath said the southern span of the route, which is from Columbus to South Bend, is expected to be the first segment to come online, with full route completion targeted for Q4 2028.

“Building this corridor from the ground up, on a timeline driven by a real anchor award, demonstrates what our team is capable of delivering,” added Tim Haverkate, chief commercial officer at Lightpath.

“This route opens a new dimension of the network for our customers and creates a durable entry point into the Chicago market toward continued strategic expansion.”

It was reported late last year that Lightpath is converting a former prison in Pennsylvania into a network facility after picking up the project, long-planned by United Fiber and Data (UFD) and inherited by Lightpath through its acquisition of UFD last year.