Neutral Networks doubles down on Mexican datacenters with JV

Mexican wholesale telco Neutral Networks is upping the ante on fiber connecting the country’s booming datacenter ecosystem with a new partner investor.

The company associated with its US peer SummitIG, a Virginia-based network solutions and bandwidth infrastructure provider, to form SierraIG. The JV is SummitIG’s first operation outside the US.

The newly created company is poised to be “a pure-play dark fiber infrastructure provider” committed to building underground fiber infrastructure in key datacenter markets in the country, aiming initially at Querétaro and Monterrey, SummitIG said in a statement.

The financial terms of the JV were not disclosed, but SummitIG will hold a majority stake in SierraIG.

SierraIG will provide custom dark fiber connectivity solutions between datacenters for hyperscalers, cloud and content service providers, large enterprises, and both national and international carriers in Mexico, said SummitIG.

The US company is also pledging to invest US$50mn to extend Neutral Networks' existing fiber footprint in the country, part of which already reaches and connects local datacenters. 

“Querétaro has become the Valley of Data Centers, which are facilities that require underground, diverse and reliable fiber optic networks for their operations,” the head of Querétaro state's sustainable development ministry (Sedesu), Marco Antonio Del Prete Tercero, said in the statement.

“The creation of SierraIG by Neutral Networks and SummitIG contributes to the infrastructure and connectivity needs demanded by companies in the sector. Furthermore, this project confirms Querétaro’s position as an attractive state for investment in technology,” he added.

SummitIG mentions plans to expand Neutral's grid to 750km, although Neutral Networks' existing footprint, even in Queretaro and Monterrey, is already around that long. Neutral Networks has used fiber provided by Prysmian and optical equipment by Infinera.

Neutral belongs to Mexican infrastructure and real estate company Even Group. The company reports more than 3,100km of metro fiber deployed in 11 Mexican cities. Of its total network, 212km are in Querétaro and 527km in Monterrey, totalling 739km.

In addition to metro fiber in Mexico, Neutral is also deploying cross-border, long-haul fiber between Mexico and the US.

The first stretch of this international network connects Laredo, in Texas, to Monterrey and Saltillo, in Mexico, through 341km of operational fiber.

Another 770km is under construction to connect Saltillo to San Luís Potosí and Querétaro.

Last year, Neutral Networks announced plans to invest US$80mn to connect Laredo to Mexico City, passing through Querétaro, in a three-year project.  

The company is not alone in its efforts to build fiber between the US and Mexico. 

There is a lot of activity and competition in the sector, with several companies also aiming to be involved in the datacenter corridor, which may help explain this partnership with SummitIG.

Among the companies providing this cross-border connectivity are MDC, Zayo and Fermaca.