Once home to a run-of-the-mill car dealership in the midst of suburban Long Island, 1025 Old Country Road in Westbury, New York is marked by a plain, old office building.

 

But at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, July 1, the four-story outpost -- a colocation interconnection facility known in the industry as the "Long Island Data and Recovery Center" -- transformed into something spectacular, welcoming new owner ancotel GmbH and the promise of a new economic hotspot miles away from Manhattan. 

 

Going forward, Frankfurt, Germany-based ancotel (News - Alert), an operator for one of the largest data network hubs in Europe, will leverage Long Island's telecommunications infrastructure to provide invaluable communication opportunities throughout the Long Island and New York metro area. The goal, according to ancotel, is to become the "preferred gateway to Europe's number one telehouse." 

 

The event, attended by operators, local government officials and news media - among others -- heavily focused on the power shift from Manhattan to Long Island. Before ancotel's acquisition of 1025 Old Country Road building, Long Island's data center and colocation market had been overlooked in favor of other geographic locations. 

 

"We are one of the top 100 best places to live in America," said John Kaiman, North Hempstead town supervisor, kicking off a round of keynote speeches preceding the morning's ribbon cutting. "The world is changing ... we are creating the idea to connect the world through a building in suburban America." 

 

Because more companies, such as financial institutions for which milliseconds gained often means millions of dollars, require direct connectivity for voice, data, and video traffic, proximity to service providers and applications have become increasingly important. 

 

The Long Island location offers a number of advantages over a city location such as Manhattan, speakers said. These include including closer proximity to submarine cable systems, lower rent costs and the ability to bypass Manhattan. 

 

John Reynolds, managing director of ancotel USA and a former managing director of LIDARC, said the ancotel is committed to its investment on Long Island, to transform the 1025 Old Country Road facility into a critical "meet-me point" for companies, cable operators and service providers, all while attracting an array of industries and jobs to Nassau County. 

 

"It's a new beginning for Long Island," Reynolds told attendees. "Today marks the independence of Newcastle, Hempstead and Long Island." 

 

Dan Lunde, vice president of business development for ancotel USA, spent much of the event showing off racks, wires and blueprints inside the actual collocation center on the building's second floor.

 

"We look forward to bringing more carriers and ISPs to Long Island," Lunde said. "I want this place to be known in telecom, 1025 OCR -- here are only a handful of buildings like that."