How DC BLOX Built Trust While Others Face Rejection

DC BLOX wins data center approvals while others face rejection. How building dark fiber networks and community trust creates a competitive advantage.

While communities across America reject billion-dollar data center projects, one Southeast operator is winning approval by building infrastructure that benefits everyone—not just hyperscalers.

Rockdale County, Georgia, had a choice: accept a distribution warehouse that would bring hundreds of trucks, diesel fumes, and demands for expanded schools and roads, or approve a data center that would employ 20 people and generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue.

They chose the data center.

But that wasn't the end of the story. As construction began and national headlines amplified concerns about data centers consuming power and water, county officials started getting questions they couldn't answer. Community members worried about grid strain and environmental impact.

Instead of backing away, DC BLOX leaned in. The company's VP of Product Management, Bill Thomson, estimates they've held at least two dozen meetings with county officials and community groups this year alone—at the executive level.

"We're being very proactive in the community with charitable donations—sizable charitable donations," Thomson explained during the infra/STRUCTURE Summit in Las Vegas, an event hosted by Structure Research to bring together data center operators, utilities, investors, and industry leaders. "We've always done this. We have a field marketing team that volunteers, makes donations, and engages with business communities. We're amping that up."

The approach represents a fundamental shift in how data center operators engage with communities. While other companies announce projects and expect approval, DC BLOX builds relationships first and infrastructure second.

And it's working.

From Regional Player to Hyperscale Operator

DC BLOX didn't start out building gigawatt-scale campuses for hyperscalers. The company began with a different strategy: serving markets that larger operators ignored.

"Everybody needs secure, reliable data centers to host their critical computing equipment," Thomson said. "All the big data center companies were building in tier one cities. There was nobody building in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, and Greenville, South Carolina. So we went under the radar and built there."

That strategy worked. DC BLOX established itself as the largest connected data center operator in the Southeast, building smaller colocation facilities in secondary markets where enterprise customers needed local presence.

Then they got an opportunity that changed everything: a cable landing station in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Cable landing stations are where subsea fiber optic cables come ashore, connecting continents. They're specialized facilities that require regulatory approvals, coordination with multiple parties, and the ability to navigate complex permitting processes.

DC BLOX delivered the project on time and on budget in about a year, overcoming local opposition, FCC regulations, and airport restrictions that other operators would have found insurmountable.

"We got it done," Thomson said simply. "They were impressed."

That success led to conversations with hyperscalers looking at the Southeast for expansion. DC BLOX suddenly found itself moving up the food chain, from regional colocation provider to hyperscale data center developer.

Today, the company has a 120-megawatt hyperscale facility in Douglas County, Georgia, already leased. The Rockdale County campus will eventually scale to another 120–200 megawatts. And they're developing additional edge nodes across the region.

"We're a relatively small player, but we had the right skills at the right time, right when the Southeast was burgeoning and when AI was burgeoning," Thomson said.

The Infrastructure Others Forgot

What sets DC BLOX apart isn't just its data centers. It's what connects them.

To link their Myrtle Beach cable landing station to Atlanta's connectivity hub and other facilities west of Atlanta, DC BLOX needed high-capacity fiber. The problem: no east-west fiber route existed with the capacity they needed.

So they built one themselves. The dark fiber route now stretches from Myrtle Beach into Atlanta with lateral connections throughout the region. It passes through 26 counties in South Carolina and Georgia—most of them rural.

"There are a lot of ISPs and other companies building broadband access to communities, but they didn't have the infrastructure to get out of the community," Thomson explained. "They can build the local roads to businesses and homes, but we basically put that superhighway in place."

That superhighway changed the value proposition for DC BLOX facilities. They weren't just asking communities to accept data centers. They were offering connectivity infrastructure that benefits everyone.

"We say, 'Look, we're building this data center here, but it's going to be connected to very high-capacity fiber which can be used for local businesses and for ISPs to connect these communities,'" Thomson said.

The dark fiber route has access points approximately every 2,000 feet. Local ISPs can connect to the network with relatively short lateral fiber runs, gaining immediate access to Atlanta and beyond.

For communities where internet access has been limited or expensive, that's transformative. It's the digital equivalent of building a highway through rural areas during the Industrial Revolution—suddenly, commerce becomes possible.

"We say, 'Hey, you want to get to Atlanta? All you need to do is get a fiber lateral to this point, and you're in,'" Thomson explained.

That's a compelling story. It's also one that most data center operators can't tell, because they haven't built the underlying infrastructure.

The Playbook That Works

DC BLOX's success in Rockdale County demonstrates what happens when community engagement becomes a priority rather than an afterthought.

The initial approval came relatively easily. The county saw the tax revenue and minimal infrastructure impact compared to alternatives. But as national concerns about data centers intensified, local officials faced constituent pressure.

"They're asking us to help them educate the community, which we're doing," Thomson said.

That education includes explaining what data centers actually do, how they operate, and what safeguards exist for environmental concerns. DC BLOX facilities use recycled water systems and utility water rather than straining municipal supplies. They operate quietly with minimal traffic. And the connectivity infrastructure they build benefits the entire region.

But education alone isn't enough. DC BLOX backs it up with tangible community investment.

Thomson mentioned that the company just hired a new PR firm specifically for community engagement playbook development. They've brought on a field marketing manager and are building out that team to handle the six additional markets in their expansion roadmap.

"From the executive level, we've been stretching to attend meetings—probably another six markets next year," Thomson said. "We've got a roadmap, and we're engaging our field folks to attend business expos, golf events, everything like that."

The approach requires resources. Thomson acknowledged they've been "stretching big time" to maintain this level of engagement. But the alternative—facing rejection like other operators—is worse.

When Things Go Wrong

Not every DC BLOX project succeeds. Thomson described a situation where community opposition derailed a project that had already secured land rights and development approval by right.

"We had rights to certain land nearby. We were invited to the area by economic development. We had by-right development that was approved," Thomson explained. "Then some community members—city and county council members—said, 'This is not okay. We need to do something about this.'"

Local politics shifted. An Amazon distribution center had already been built in the area, and some residents resisted further commercialization. County officials, facing constituent pressure, changed course.

"They decided to say, 'Well, these are constituents, and we need to respond to them,'" Thomson said. "They kind of changed the rules."

The experience reinforced the importance of proactive engagement. Once opposition takes hold and officials feel political pressure, even approved projects can get blocked.

"We got caught up in that," Thomson acknowledged. "It depends on how officials react. Some focus on educating about the positives and the use of tax dollars. Others respond to constituent concerns regardless of the economic benefits."

Why the Southeast Matters

DC BLOX chose the Southeast deliberately. The region offers several advantages for data center development: population growth, business expansion, available land, and historically favorable utility infrastructure.

But Thomson sees something deeper at work. The Southeast is positioning itself for the digital economy in ways that other regions aren't.

"This is the new industrial revolution," Thomson said at the Structure Research event. "States and maybe even countries that have proactive policies that say, 'Let's excel, let's adapt and accelerate'—those are going to be the economic winners."

He draws an explicit contrast with regions that resist data center development.

"If you don't, you're going to get left behind. China's not worried about these concerns. They see the future, and they're investing heavily in energy infrastructure."

Recent reports show China building data centers at 10,000 feet in Tibet next to massive solar farms where power costs 40% less and cooling needs drop by 40%. Meanwhile, American communities are implementing moratoriums.

Thomson believes that competitive disadvantage will force change.

"Every business is going to need a part of this infrastructure," he said. "Every business is going to have to play in AI to survive, to ensure their future. The investments are going to continue. The business value and personal value in terms of healthcare, research, personal assistance—all those benefits are going to drive the need for this infrastructure."

The Edge Strategy

While hyperscalers chase gigawatt-scale campuses for AI training, DC BLOX is also building something different: edge nodes in tier two and tier three markets.

These smaller facilities—5 to 10 megawatts—serve a different purpose. They bring computing power closer to end users for applications that require low latency, such as gaming, virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, and real-time AI processing.

"As applications become more real time, you can only deliver that when infrastructure is close to you," Thomson explained. "Most people aren't going to object to a five or ten-megawatt data center near them."

The edge strategy reflects a broader vision: data centers will exist at every scale, in every region, serving different purposes. The massive training facilities will handle model development. Cloud platforms will run AI services. Edge nodes will deliver real-time responses.

"There's going to be data centers in every region of the country," Thomson said. "There might be debates about what those nodes look like, but it's going to be a combination of edge nodes, cloud platforms, and learning models."

DC BLOX positions itself to serve all those tiers. Their portfolio now includes multi-tenant colocation, cable landing stations, hyperscale cloud facilities, and edge nodes—a full spectrum of digital infrastructure.

"We're not just a data center operator," Thomson emphasized. "We are a digital infrastructure provider with a lot of the pieces that are literally lifting up the Southeast in terms of the infrastructure they're going to need for the future economy."

The Utility Challenge

Even with community support, DC BLOX faces the same power infrastructure challenges as every other operator. Utilities in the Southeast, like everywhere else, weren't prepared for the surge in demand.

Most utilities experienced flat electricity demand for a decade before 2022, then saw requirements jump 20 to 30 times with the arrival of AI workloads.

The utilities are adapting, but their policies create friction. Thomson noted that utilities’ requirements around power usage commitments essentially "box out the whole colocation market" by favoring hyperscalers who self-build.

"We've had our leadership meet with their leadership to say, 'Look, with those kinds of requirements, you're going to box out the majority of the market,'" Thomson said.

The challenge extends throughout the Southeast. Utilities across the region are implementing frameworks designed for a different era, and they don't understand the dynamics of how data centers actually get built.

"I don't know that a lot of people understand that there are multiple parties involved," Thomson said. "That's why events like the Structure Research conference are very helpful—getting disparate parties on the same page, or at least talking."

The Long View

Thomson expects the current wave of community resistance to subside as people see the actual benefits of data center investment.

"I think this wave of 'we don't really know what a data center is, but we think it's bad'—that wave will ebb," he said. "We'll start seeing people saying, 'Oh wow, actually this was a great investment.'"

He compares it to cell towers. Nobody wanted them nearby, but everyone needed cell service. Eventually, the value became undeniable.

The same will happen with data centers, Thomson believes, but only if operators approach communities honestly and demonstrate tangible benefits.

"We just need to educate. We all love our cell phone service, and no one wanted a cell tower in their backyard either. But eventually, you can't not have cell phones. Same thing with data centers and digital infrastructure."

DC BLOX's approach—building connectivity infrastructure, engaging proactively with communities, investing in local relationships—offers a template for other operators. It requires more resources and patience than simply announcing projects and expecting approval. But in an environment where billion-dollar projects get rejected and communities implement moratoriums, patience and community investment look like competitive advantages.

"We're all invested in making sure the public is educated," Thomson said. "Because the future economy depends on this infrastructure."

For DC BLOX, that means continuing to build—both the physical infrastructure and the community relationships that make it possible. While other operators face rejection, DC BLOX is winning approvals by offering something more valuable than tax revenue: a genuine partnership in building the digital future.