Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) has invested in expanding its network infrastructure in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area.

The company said it is building more than 170 miles of new fiber between Amarillo, Texas, and Oklaunion, Texas, adding diversity to a key route between two major tech hubs.

Completion of the project is anticipated by the end of September 2022 and will result in new, direct fibre connectivity to hundreds of buildings in the Dallas/Fort Worth-area.

Driving demand for connectivity is both Dallas’ reputation as a top-tier data centre market and the technology focus of the area’s major industry sectors which include high-tech manufacturing and IT services.

Dennis Kyle, Senior Vice President, Product Marketing at Zayo, said: “Dallas is a long-time leader in the data centre space and specializes in serving the influx of tech enterprises to the area.

“We are committed to continued investment in Texas to support customers’ demand for diverse, high-capacity fibre connectivity to enable their growth and ability to innovate. Zayo’s unmatched network combined with the Shielded Internet Access package provides customers in the market with the bandwidth that takes them anywhere they need to be in the most convenient, cost-effective way possible.”

Texas ranks second in the US for net tech employment, which represents the number of technology professionals working in technical positions and business professionals employed by technology companies in the state.

The central location of North Texas within the US is a significant attraction for data centres that service all sectors, and DFW ranks third in global data centre market size. The region is also home to the Telecom Corridor, known for its high concentration of high-tech businesses.

Ed Curtis, CEO of YTexas, said: “With a surge of new business enterprises in the State of Texas overall, the importance of providing critical digital infrastructure and reliable connectivity cannot be understated.”