C7 Plugs Utah Data Centers into CenturyLink’s Network

C7 Data Centers has connected two data centers on its campus in Bluffdale, Utah, to CenturyLink’s massive fiber network that spans the US, which also gives it access to the telco’s international transport network, the companies said in a statement.

The deal gives C7 customers the option to interconnect with about 300 data centers on CenturyLink’s network, including the telco’s own 60 facilities, Eric Barrett, director of network product management at CenturyLink, said. They can also access CenturyLink’s cloud services over the network.

While C7’s campus in Bluffdale is large, the town is better known for being the site of the massive NSA data center the agency reportedly uses to collect, store, and process electronic communications data acquired via programs disclosed by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

CenturyLink has been struggling to grow its own data center colocation business, whose nexus was the $2.5 billion acquisition of Savvis in 2011. The company is currently considering alternative options for ownership of its data center assets, including potentially selling some or all of the assets.