DC Blox, a Greenville, S.C., data center firm, has broken ground on its Myrtle Beach Cable Landing Station (CLS). When complete, the facility will be connected to five pre-positioned subsea bore pipes configured to encase up to five 24-fiber pair subsea cables.

The company also announced that a new dark fiber route linking Myrtle Beach with the Southeast connectivity hub in Atlanta is under construction.

DCD, an online news source for the data center industry, reported Oct. 4 that the 15-megawatt CLS is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2023, while the fiber route will be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

"We are celebrating the groundbreaking of the new Myrtle Beach Cable Landing Station and the highly anticipated East-West dark fiber route across the Southeast," said Jeff Uphues, CEO of DC Blox. "We thank all our partners and local government officials who are helping to drive the development of this digital infrastructure across the region.

"The rapid growth we are seeing in cities across the Southeast demands state-of-the-art digital infrastructure to enable local businesses and communities to stay connected, communicate, compete and thrive in the global economy."

DC Blox's nearly 500-mi. dark fiber route will be the first high-capacity east-west fiber path from South Carolina through Georgia. It will connect from the Myrtle Beach CLS, through Charleston, Augusta, Ga., and Atlanta, before landing in Lithia Springs, Ga.

The term "dark fiber" is defined as an unlit or unused optical fiber that has been laid, but which can be leased to data companies in the future.

"As digital transformation drives the growth of cloud, distributed infrastructure, and next-generation applications, DC Blox is positioning itself as a leader at offering worldwide connectivity," noted South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster at the groundbreaking. "Today, we celebrate their presence in our state and look forward to the positive impact they will have in Horry County and across South Carolina."

Google Plans to Run Cables from S.C.

News of a CLS in Horry County's Myrtle Beach broke in April as local officials looked to sell 20 acres of land at its 460-acre International Technology and Aerospace Park (ITAP) to an unnamed company.

However, DCD noted the official's documents failed to redact DC Blox's name in the legal definitions for the land sale. The very next month, DC Blox confirmed its plans to build its station at the site.

Myrtle Beach currently does not have any cable landing stations, but two cables are due to land there soon, DCD reported.

Last year, Google announced that its Firmina 12-fiber pair cable will run from South Carolina to Las Toninas, Argentina, and is due to launch in 2023. More landings are slated to run from the Palmetto State to Praia Grande, Brazil and Punta del Este, Uruguay.

The Confluence 1 submarine cable, from Confluence Networks, will span the Eastern seaboard from Sunny Isles, Fla., to Wall Township, N.J. It also is due to go live in 2023; both cables are being supplied by Subcom.

Myrtle Beach's agreement with DC Blox suggests that its CLS will likely serve Google — referring to its intended use as a CLS for an undisclosed "cloud technology company."

The Myrtle Beach CLS will be DC Blox's second location in South Carolina. The company's Greenville facility opened in January, and is currently expanding with a second data facility encompassing over 9,000 sq. ft.

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