Quantum Corridor CEO Tom Dakich On U.S. Midwest Data Center Horizons

For this episode of the DCF Show podcast, Data Center Frontier Editor in Chief Matt Vincent and Senior Editor David Chernicoff speak with Tom Dakich, CEO of Quantum Corridor, about compute possibilities for his company's super-fast, super-secure fiber-optic network operating in the area of Chicagoland and Northern Indiana.

Almost exactly a year ago, Quantum Corridor launched what the company bills as "one of the fastest, most secure fiber-optic networks in the Western Hemisphere" with its first transmissions from the Chicago ORD 10 Data Center at 350 E. Cermak Rd. to a data center in Hammond, Indiana. 

Formed in 2021 as a public-private partnership with the state of Indiana, Quantum Corridor was established to enable advanced Illinois and Indiana tech innovators to exchange data nearly instantaneously, the better to achieve frontline technology breakthroughs. 

Funded through a $4.0 million grant from the state of Indiana’s READI grant program and with the cooperation of the Indiana Department of Transportation and Northwest Indiana Forum, Quantum Corridor's network is utilizing 263 miles of new and existing fiber-optic cable beneath the Indiana Toll Road to link data centers, quantum research facilities, life sciences and genome scientists and hyperscalers with industry-shattering speeds and throughput.

Transmitting at data speeds reportedly 1,000x faster than traditional networks, on its launch in 2023, Quantum Corridor said the new network aims to enable regional businesses and institutions to achieve breakthroughs in the segments for defense, financial modeling, biotech, cybersecurity, machine learning, research and more. This optimism came on the heels of the Biden-Harris administration’s designation last October of of the Chicago MSA as a U.S. Regional Technology and Innovation Hub.

With its first transmissions, Quantum Corridor achieved a latency of 0.266 milliseconds of information exchange over its current 12-mile network—a transmission speed 500 times faster than the blink of an eye and far exceeding the average network’s existing 12-times-longer latency. 

The combination of near-instantaneous transmissions paired with massive throughput is expected to enable exponential breakthroughs in modeling and problem solving across myriad industries. Quantum Corridor continues to expand its mileage and connect research facilities. According to the company, the network already has the capacity to transmit nearly the entire current content load of the internet in a single transmission.