Company News
News provided by: Midco
Midco and Switch are proud to announce a five-year, multistate connectivity agreement supporting critical AI infrastructure in Ellendale, North Dakota.
“This connectivity deal strengthens Midco’s position as the nation’s largest 400G circuit provider, enabling hyperscalers and data centers to grow with confidence,” said Midco president and chief operating officer Ben Dold. “With unmatched network customization, engineering responsiveness and high-capacity transport reach, Midco is redefining what high-bandwidth fiber connectivity can deliver.”
A new benchmark in network capacity
The agreement includes more than 500 individual 400 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) circuits delivered across two geographically diverse routes, providing full path redundancy between Ellendale, North Dakota and Chicago. In total, the network enables 200 terabits of capacity.
“Switch selected Midco because of its ability to engineer a creative, resilient network design that meets the customer’s stringent diversity and performance requirements while remaining on schedule in a highly constrained supply environment,” said Switch SVP of connectivity, Scott Gutierrez. “Midco demonstrated strong control over a complex equipment supply chain and leveraged a combination of owned infrastructure and strategic partnerships to deliver a large-scale, high-capacity solution. Their flexibility, execution discipline, and willingness to think beyond conventional designs made them the right partner for this critical deployment.”
As a premier provider of AI, cloud and enterprise data centers, Switch has raised the industry standard for data center technology solutions. Switch serves organizations across a broad range of industries, including hyperscale AI and cloud providers, health care, financial services and banking, government and other enterprise sectors. Their clients depend on cost-effective, highly reliable telecommunications infrastructure that can be delivered on time and deployed with minimal friction.
“The common requirements for our customers are clear: scalable, resilient and future-ready connectivity delivered with precision and accountability,” Gutierrez added. “Having successfully managed complex initiatives for our Ellendale customer over the past three years, Switch brought the proven expertise, vendor relationships and execution framework necessary to deliver a winning strategy. This network solution with Nokia was critical. Without it, the customer would not have been positioned to secure a multi-billion-dollar contract. Midco played an integral role as a nimble and innovative partner, collaborating closely with Switch to design and deploy the infrastructure required to meet the moment.”
Midco in the news:
Midco Sports announces selection of Visaic as tech partner (Jan. 2026)
Midco acquires SCI Broadband in Minnesota network expansion (Nov. 2025)
To support the scale and performance of this deployment, Midco is leveraging optical networking solutions from Nokia, delivering high-capacity transport with enhanced efficiency and reliability across its network.
“We’re proud to support Midco in delivering a highly advanced 400G network,” said Osvaldo Di Campli, EVP network infrastructure sales at Nokia. “This project highlights how next-generation optical innovation is scaling to unlock massive capacity while maintaining performance and resiliency at scale to meet the demands of the AI supercycle.”
Strategic impact
“This partnership marks a powerful milestone for North Dakota’s digital‑infrastructure future,” said North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong. “When a major data center operator chooses to expand with a provider like Midco, it sends a clear signal: North Dakota is rapidly becoming one of the most competitive locations in the nation for high‑performance connectivity, cloud growth and AI‑driven industries.”
“The capacity, speed and scalability unlocked by this new fiber deployment not only strengthens our statewide technology ecosystem but also positions North Dakota for the next generation of data center and hyperscale investment,” said North Dakota Department of Commerce Commissioner Chris Schilken. “This is exactly the kind of forward‑looking infrastructure that fuels innovation, attracts world‑class partners and drives long‑term economic opportunity for our state.”
“This partnership demonstrates that the Midwest is open for business,” said Midco Director of Wholesale Jeff Sanders. “It shows that our region, with its favorable climate, abundant natural resources, renewable energy and strong business environment, continues to be the optimal location for data centers and hyperscalers. Our network covers the heart of the region, and our long-haul routes connect business customers to major points of presence sites like Minneapolis, Omaha, Chicago and Denver, allowing the transmission of massive volumes of voice, video and data at reliable 400G speeds.”
Get this news in your inbox. Subscribe to the Broadband Communities newsletter!
