DC Blox plans to build a second cable landing station CLS in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Horry County Council approved the purchase of land next to the company’s current facility at its recent meeting, as confirmed by the company.
DC Blox intends to acquire 21 acres within the Myrtle Beach International Technology and Aerospace Park adjacent to its existing CLS for $2.77 million, according to the council agenda.
When data arrives in the United States, it needs somewhere to go, right? You [have] to take it terrestrially, said Bill Thomson, DC Blox’s vice president of marketing. “It became very evident that there was sufficient growth in the region, there was enough more capacity expected from operators like the ones we’ve seen to say, expansion makes sense.”
Three of the five available cable slots at the facility have already been reserved – two for Google and one for Meta. DC Blox will launch its first CLS in Myrtle Beach in October last year.
Horry Council and DC Blox originally agreed that DC Blox might purchase additional parcels, which it is now exercising. Since the land is part of Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), FAA approval is required before the agreement can be finalized.
“Horry County Department of Airports prepared the proposed agreement and feels that it is consistent with the value and use of the property, will not interfere with other operations at MYR, and will benefit the County through economic development interests and revenue,” county documents stated.
According to Thomson, the second CLS will host four more cables, giving the campus the capability to host nine cables in total.
A Firmina cable connecting the US to Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and a Nuvem cable connecting Portugal and Bermuda, will land at Google’s original CLS. At the new CLS, Meta plans to land its Anjana cable connecting to Spain through its Edge Holdings subsidiary.
A cable running from New Jersey to Florida will also land in Myrtle Beach, but no official announcement has been made about it landing at the CLS.
In addition to its Birmingham and Huntsville facilities, DC Blox operates a facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Another facility is planned for High Point, North Carolina, and outside Atlanta, Georgia. Berkeley County, South Carolina, is the site of a 45MW data center campus announced by the company recently.
Palm Coast, Florida, between Orlando and Jacksonville, is the location of the company’s proposed CLS.