Data Centers: 5-G Day

The introduction of 5G small cell technology means changes in data center infrastructure as well as significant increases in their processing speeds and volumes.

By Dominique Cantelme

With availability of 5G wireless expected to begin in 2020, data centers are set to play a critical role in its implementation sooner than later. Data will need to be hosted and streamed closer to the consumer and at significantly higher speeds and volumes, and lower latencies.

Explained on the National Geographic website in partnership with Sprint, “…When wireless phone technology emerged, the first-generation network (1G) carried voice only. When text between two cellular devices became possible, 2G was born. With 3G came the ability to make calls, send text and surf the web from a wireless device deemed ‘smart.’ …The 4G network allowed us to make calls, send texts, browse the internet and both download and upload video files…Now, LTE (Long Term Evolution) delivers 4G at the highest possible speeds….but ideal conditions are often disrupted by buildings, microwaves and other Wi-Fi signals.”

As opposed to previous mobile data technologies that were built around hardware, the 5G solution to this 4G problem is small cell technology, which is software-driven. 5G will be based on upgradable micro- and macro-cells.

“Rather than large cell towers scattered across the country, 5G will demand the deployment of small cell technology. 5G uses shorter wavelengths which means phone antennas need to be much smaller than existing antennas. Moreover, these super-high frequencies (30 GHz to 300 GHz) will only work if devices are in close proximity to antennas. Therefore it is likely we will see multiple input and output antennas (MIMOs) and many more small cells installed around public infrastructure,” says Nick Kyriakides, COO and founder of netTALK.

According to Rich Miller at Data Center Frontier, 5G is expected to have three key attributes: high-bandwidth mobile broadband of 100 Mbps or better; support for massive machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, with density of up to 100,000 connections per square kilometer; and ultra low-latency communications, enabling sub-10 millisecond latency for mission-critical apps.

“5G will be deployed over a number of years, spreading as new equipment is finalized. It will require new transmission infrastructure, including thousands of cell towers and tens of thousands of antenna—known as small cells and DAS (distributed antenna systems)—that will be deployed on utility poles and other urban infrastructure. It will also need fiber,” advises Miller.

To prepare for 5G, data centers will require more power, cooling, servers, racks, PDUs and space. And since 5G is expected to spur the creation of even more apps, data centers will need to find ways of increasing processing rates and storage capacity. 5G networks are expected to offer users a maximum latency of 4ms and of 1ms for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). This means data centers will not be able to function using only a single, massive location; they will need to be located closer to the users and the cellular radio towers that serve them—a number of smaller data centers around the country will most likely be necessary.

Here are some perfect locations for these readying 5G data centers.

CONNECT TO THE WORLD FROM FLORIDA

Few states can match the scale and scope of Florida’s industry assets. The state’s competitive costs, large talent pool, global connectivity and unmatched quality of life support the growth of a robust economy. Statewide, industry leaders have found success and a home in Florida.

5G data centers
S.S. White Technologies, a company that specializes in manufacturing for aircraft, automotive and medical products, relocated its international headquarters from New Jersey to a 90,000-square-foot facility in Pinellas County, FL. (Photo: Enterprise Florida)

Say “Fort Lauderdale” and images of sunny beaches will probably spring to mind. But this tropical paradise doubles as one of the country’s fastest growing technology hubs and has been doing so for decades. The first IBM PC was developed in South Florida in the early 1980s, the first smartphone a decade later.

Most recently, Greater Fort Lauderdale has been carving out a unique niche for itself as one of the nation’s most unassuming software industry clusters.

These achievements could be relegated to the status of “fun facts” if it weren’t for the region’s sustained efforts to leverage natural advantages and infrastructure to support this burgeoning tech and software sector. Greater Fort Lauderdale is among the top 50 U.S. tech talent markets and ranked No. 2 on CBRE’s list of technology talent momentum markets, based on the 2016-2015 change in tech job growth. Within the software industry, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance reports median earnings of $173,477, a figure that is 85 percent above the national average.

As rising costs push firms to look beyond other saturated markets, Greater Fort Lauderdale’s business-friendly climate, location, no personal state income tax and high-tech cluster offers significant advantages. Startups in the region also benefit from low barriers to entry, as well as access to venture capital.

Magic Leap, a homegrown mixed reality company founded in Plantation, has captured more than $2 billion in funding to date. Greater Fort Lauderdale has fostered a number of successful local enterprises such as Citrix, e-Builder and Ultimate Software. As its tech footprint expands and as demand for tech workers increases, local leaders are working with national nonprofits and through public schools which heavily emphasize and make coding education available to develop new talent in all sectors of technology.

The area’s high standard of living also syncs with the lifestyle preferences of Millennials, who now comprise the lion’s share of the workforce. Millennials are famously more focused on quality of life than previous generations, preferring communities with ample cultural and entertainment amenities, as well as access to outdoor activities.

That’s where those beaches come in.

To learn more about what the Fort Lauderdale region can offer your business, contact the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance at (954) 524-3113.

Rahul Shukla, President and CEO of S.S. White Technologies, the world’s leader in flexible shaft technology, announced he has relocated his company’s international headquarters from Piscataway, NJ to Pinellas County, FL, bringing 125 jobs to the state.

The company will base its headquarters operations, manufacturing, research and development at a 90,000-square-foot facility located in Seminole. S.S. White currently employs 116 staff at its new Florida headquarters.

“Moving a manufacturing plant from New Jersey to Seminole was a huge task, but well worth it. We feel very welcome in Pinellas County”, shared Rahul Shukla, C.E.O. of S.S. White Technologies. “We’ve hired 80 well-qualified employees in the factory and our offices. We find the weather and the community very hospitable, taxes less painful and the sunsets magical. My only regret is that we didn’t move to Florida many years earlier.”

S.S. White specializes in manufacturing for aircraft, automotive and medical products. Every aircraft flying today, with the exception of Russian aircraft, has at least one part manufactured by S.S. White. In addition to its new headquarters in Seminole, the company has operations in the United Kingdom and India.

“We’re honored to welcome Rahul and his team at S.S. White to Pinellas County. It is easy to see the passion he has for his products, his process and especially his people,” said Commissioner Kenneth T. Welch, 2018 Chair of the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. “I want to say thank you for choosing Seminole and continuing S.S. White’s commitment to manufacturing excellence within our community.”

Pinellas County, in partnership with Enterprise Florida, the City of Seminole and Duke Energy, competed against sites in New Jersey to win this relocation project.

“Manufacturing is an essential part of our Pinellas County economy,” said Mike Meidel, Director of Pinellas County Economic Development. “We’re honored to add S.S. White, a storied company that has become a leading innovator in a very competitive sector, to our business community.

For more information about doing business in the City of Seminole region, contact Pinellas County Economic Development at (727) 464-7332.

In the Internet-of-Things era, data centers are a vital component in coordinating multiple points quickly. While all data centers require certain core infrastructure, such as diverse fiber connectivity, utility grade construction, high security and environmental controls, there are added advantages in Jacksonville.

The region has a growing demand for data centers due to its location on the global fiber optic network, reduced risk and latency and lower cost than other markets, saving customers upwards of 30 percent on business expenses.

Downtown Jacksonville’s JAX NAP (Network Access Point) is home to eight on-site data centers and more than 20 fiber providers. Much like airline transportation hubs, the NAP exchanges data between fiber optic cable systems to allow them to reach their destination. As the most connected NAP between Atlanta and Miami, JAX NAP is network neutral and hosts a significant amount of dark fiber and subsea fiber optic connectivity to more than 40 countries.

As the region advances its efforts to become the nation’s first smart region, the master plan behind the initiative is grounded in the collection, analysis and application of data from numerous sources to improve safety, mobility and productivity. The concept is that all collected data will be housed in a regional integrated data exchange. That data can be used to improve everything from traffic and parking management to autonomous vehicle utilization to first responders dispatch.

In addition to the state and local agencies plugged into the data exchange, there is increasing participation from the wider tech community to develop applications and services that leverage the availability of the data.

Jacksonville has been a test market for innovation in this space, and as such, established companies and startups are showing interest in growing their presence and testing their products in the region. Most recently, a west coast-based provider of global internet services and data centers chose to create a point of presence in Jacksonville, due to the region’s dedication to smart technology.

Find out more about doing business in the seven Northeast Florida counties by calling the JAXUSA Partnership at (904) 366-6652.

IOWA: AN EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICAL DATA CENTER HUB

The next time you add an appointment to your Google Calendar or share a video on Facebook, there is a decent chance you are using data that originated from a server in Iowa.

The Hawkeye State has established itself as a central part of the continuing surge of data center construction across the Midwest, attracting tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook to invest billions in data centers across the state. Iowa also is home to smaller data centers managed by companies such as Des Moines-based LightEdge Solutions, Cedar Rapids-based Involta, Urbandale-based IP and Enseva. Despite their comparatively smaller size, each is responsible for serving a variety of business needs that impact thousands of customers.

To the end user, a data center’s location likely doesn’t matter—they just need to feel confident that their connection is stable and readily accessible. Anything less violates a business imperative of any company entrusted with a customer’s data. However, for business leaders tasked with ensuring data centers operate as intended, the considerations and criteria are multifaceted, yet equally important. The state of Iowa is uniquely positioned as a cost-efficient destination, meshing infrastructure and ample resources with a business-friendly environment and a low cost of doing business for companies seeking continuity and efficiency in data operations. Three key categories of business essentials are worth exploring: A safe and reliable connection; clean, cost-efficient and renewable energy; and a business-friendly regulatory environment.

A safe and reliable connection. An interruption in data service can create a domino effect of issues, ranging from unplanned downtime to much more serious consequences for the end user—any of which call into question a company’s reputation and commitment to customer service. With reliability being mission critical for IT professionals, a data center’s location is a vital consideration for operational success.

Given the variety of situations that can lead to service outages, Iowa’s location on the map has proven to be a major (albeit fortuitous) asset for companies operating data centers in the state. Though no state or municipality can guarantee a data center’s complete safety, statistics show that Iowa is one of the safest areas in the United States, experiencing low or no occurrences of hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist activity and rolling utility blackouts, any of which can threaten a data center’s integrity.

Clean, cost-efficient and renewable energy. With Iowa’s electricity costs ranking among the lowest in the country, companies with data centers based in the state have realized significant savings on the biggest operating cost of any high-density data center. Iowa’s utility costs are 15 percent to 20 percent lower than the national average, allowing companies to allocate resources that would have otherwise been spent on higher energy costs to other business-driving efforts. Iowa also ranks among the best states in the country for power grid reliability according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual Energy Rankings, further solidifying its position as a low-risk and cost-effective hub for data centers of all sizes.

But in the current business landscape, it’s simply not enough to prioritize operational cost savings. Companies have been challenged (both by internal and external stakeholders) to place sustainability at the forefront of planning and implementation—a challenge that Iowa’s abundant wind energy has helped tech companies face head-on. Iowa is first in the nation in wind energy (as a percentage of total power output), a fact that has led companies to heavily invest in Iowa for powering energy-intensive data centers.

Iowa’s private and public sectors are both committed to furthering the state’s investments in wind energy with more than $14.2 billion dollars having already been allocated in wind-related projects and an additional $4.6 billion in wind capacity planned by the state’s utilities.

A business-friendly regulatory environment. With an understanding that Iowa’s innate benefits can only truly work for tech companies in a regulatory environment designed to help them thrive, Iowa’s state government enacted legislation that offers qualified data centers a 50 percent or 100 percent refund on sales and use tax for electricity purchased for use in data centers, power infrastructure temperature control/cool tower equipment, racking systems and other needs. This unique legislation may also yield millions of dollars in savings, including no corporate income tax on profits from sales made outside of Iowa and no property tax on equipment or computers.

Each of these factors by themselves make Iowa an attractive option, but combined, they make the state one of the nation’s top destinations for tech companies as demand for internet and cloud storage services increases. For more information about all the state of Iowa has to offer, visit www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com.

This section was written by Debi V. Durham.

UTAH: CONNECTED CROSSROADS

Whether it was the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad—where the Central Pacific Railroad and the first Union Pacific Railroad met at Promontory Point 150 years ago—new connections developed through interstates or the current expansion of the Salt Lake City International airport, Utah has long been about making strong connections.

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The Utah Data Center (pictured), located in Bluffdale, UT and also known as the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, is the NSA’s primary data storage facility.

From coast to coast, American innovation thrives on the exchange of data, ideas and trade. Did you know Utah was the fourth node of the original internet? No wonder companies such as eBay, Facebook and the National Security Agency have spent billions of dollars building data centers in the state. Utah welcomes innovation and is fertile soil for data centers because of its entrepreneurial workforce, reasonable cost of living, low utility costs and high quality of life.

Known as the crossroads of the west, Utah is the place where people and companies come to live, work and play. Connections through Utah’s trains, roads, airports and broadband services are the reasons why the state exports a surprising $12 billion annually in goods and services. Utah’s diverse economy is anchored in information technology, financial services, aerospace and defense, energy, life sciences and outdoor products—each with industry employment indexes above the national average.

Utah’s prosperity would not be possible without access to high-speed broadband. Both metropolitan and rural residents rely on high-speed internet to perform daily routine tasks. Fast internet access also allows Utahns to compete and succeed in the global marketplace. According to a 2018 report issued by U.S. News & World Report, Utah ranked fourth in the nation for internet access.

Three major ongoing development projects in the state will increase international trade and investment opportunities while setting a new standard in global connectivity. First, the Salt Lake City International Airport is undergoing a self-funded $3.6 billion reconstruction with new, state-of-the-art terminals opening over the course of four years, starting in 2020. This project will create more than 24,000 jobs and generate more than $1 billion in wages over the construction period, not to mention becoming a beautiful, gleaming, modern air transportation hub like no other.

Secondly, next door, the state is creating a 16,000-acre Inland Port that will serve as a logistics and distribution hub. Salt Lake City is considered a premier place for an inland port because of its international airport and ideal location in the intermountain west, with several major interstates and rail lines that go through the city.

Thirdly, more than 20,000 acres of prime real estate will be developed at the Wasatch Front’s Point of the Mountain in northern Utah, in the heart of Silicon Slopes. These three generational projects will once again differentiate Utah as the place where companies and individuals come to experience “Life Elevated.”

Utah consistently ranks top in the nation for its business-friendly environment, personal income growth and quality of life. It’s no wonder why each year more individuals and companies chose Utah. The state is routinely recognized with press accolades. Since 2010, Utah has been ranked a top-three “Best State for Business” by Forbes, including six number one spots, U.S. News and World Report ranked Utah the No. 1 state for Fiscal Stability in 2018, Lendio ranked Utah the No. 1 state for Small Business Lending in 2018, and that’s just to name a few.

Since credit ratings started in the 1960s, Utah is one of only a few states to maintain a triple-A credit rating from all three credit reporting agencies. Utah state government lives within its means and has hundreds of millions of dollars set aside in a rainy day fund to weather future storms.

Utah’s diverse workforce has a fierce determination to succeed and prosper, no matter the challenge. That’s one of the state’s hallmarks. The dynamic business environment and exceptional quality of life continue to be fertile soil for growth in Utah.

Utah has been and will continue to be at the crossroads of it all.