Data Centers in Fairbanks

Fairbanks – Resilient Edge for the Arctic Frontier

Executive Summary

Fairbanks provides a strategic, albeit niche, data center market for organizations requiring low-latency compute at the North American frontier. It is an essential location for government, military, university research, and resource-extraction industries operating in the challenging Alaskan interior. For these specific use cases, Fairbanks offers a resilient infrastructure footprint where proximity to operations outweighs carrier density.

Fairbanks: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality Carrier diversity in Fairbanks is limited, with at least one primary provider offering services as of September 2025. The market consists of two data centers. Connectivity options are sufficient for regional needs but do not offer the dense, competitive environment found in major metro hubs.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps There are no direct public cloud on-ramps in Fairbanks, as of September 2025. Businesses connect to cloud providers by procuring private network circuits, such as PNI or wavelength services, to major hubs in the Pacific Northwest, primarily Seattle.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) Public peering is not a feature of the Fairbanks market. Interconnection is handled through private arrangements or routed through network providers to major exchange points in Seattle, which serves as the primary peering point for Alaskan traffic.

Bare Metal Bare metal server capacity is available, enabling businesses to deploy dedicated compute without capital expenditure. Providers like Hivelocity can service workloads in edge locations like Fairbanks, providing a valuable option for performance-sensitive applications.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power Industrial power costs in Fairbanks typically range from $0.12 to $0.16 per kWh, as of September 2025. This rate is higher than the U.S. average, reflecting the market's reliance on petroleum and natural gas for generation. This cost structure makes power density a key consideration for deployments.

Power Grid Reliability The local power grid is engineered to withstand extreme Arctic weather conditions and operates with a high degree of reliability. While isolated from the broader North American grid, local utilities have significant experience maintaining uptime during severe winter events, and data center facilities feature standard N+1 redundancy.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts Data centers in Fairbanks serve the core economic activities of the Alaskan interior. This includes critical support for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base, and the operational headquarters for mining and energy companies.

Regional Market Reach Fairbanks is the primary digital infrastructure hub for Interior and Northern Alaska. It provides a crucial point of presence for latency-sensitive applications supporting logistics, scientific research, and resource exploration across a vast and remote geography.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers Alaska's most significant financial benefit is its lack of a statewide sales or use tax. This creates a compelling incentive for hardware-heavy deployments, allowing companies to avoid millions of dollars in tax on servers, racks, and networking gear purchases.

Natural Disaster Risk

Fairbanks has a Moderate natural disaster risk profile, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 45.05 out of 100, as of September 2025. The infrastructure is built to withstand known environmental hazards.

Key risks for the region include:

• Earthquake
• Winter Weather
• Cold Wave
• Wildfire
• Riverine Flooding
• Avalanche