COLOCATION SUMMIT 2000:
Power Supply A 'Big, Big Issue'
Aging grids challenged by growth of the 'Net economy

By Rich Miller
CarrierHotels News Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 16, 2000) -- Location and fiber will always matter. But the new mantra in telecom site location may be "power, power, power."
The availability of high-quality power is driving site location decisions like never before, according to executives who spoke at The Colocation Summit at the Marriott Wardman Plaza.
"Power is a big, big issue," said Pat Walker, executive vice president of the outside plant and power business at Marconi.
Colocation centers' thirst for more juice is also making the hosting industry a target for criticism, as aging power grids struggle to keep pace with the growing demand of powering the Internet economy.
An uninterrupted power supply is crucial to Internet e-commerce, in which downtime can damage both revenues and reputation. Data centers filled with Web servers require extraordinary amounts of power, and often must make special arrangements with utilities to obtain it.
The availability of electricity is among the issues that may force telecom facilities to move beyond urban central business districts, where power grids tend to face their toughest capacity challenges, according to analyst David Prior of The Phillips Group.
"There is no need to be in the central business district," said Prior. "There are already restrictions on space and power (in urban centers)."
The miniaturization of Internet equipment may leave providers yearning for even more juice. The trend could allow colocation providers to pack more server appliances into the same square footage, which would boost revenues. But it would also increase the power required to both run and cool the equipment.
The high-tech industry's relationship with power gained attention last June during a record-setting heat wave in Silicon Valley. When the mercury hit 109 degrees on June 14 in San Jose, Pacific Gas & Electric was forced to ration power, and discontinued service to 97,000 businesses, including many of the Valley's high-tech companies.
In August, a story in the Financial Times suggested London may soon face a similar power squeeze, driven at least in part by the rapid growth in Internet infrastructure.
But local officials should be expanding their capacity to fix the problem, not the blame, according to CityReach International, a London telecom center operators.
"Put simply, without the Internet exchange, there is no Internet," said Frazer Hamilton, chief marketing officer at CityReach, in responding to the FT story.
"We should be learning from the problems already experienced in Silicon Valley," Hamilton added, "otherwise London risks being the loser as other European cities bend over backwards to protect inward investment by accommodating the power requirements of the internet economy."

OTHER COLOCATION SUMMIT COVERAGE:
Managed Services Debate Heats Up
Despite hype, some execs say 'commoditization' is far off (Nov. 16)

Will Colocation Space Yearn To be Free?
Cityreach CEO: 'I'll be giving space away.' (Nov. 16)