u/Bee-El-Zu-Bubba

May 18, 2026
Midco, Switch Announce Historic 400G Connectivity Deal
Midco and Switch are proud to announce a five-year, multistate connectivity agreement supporting critical AI infrastructure in Ellendale, North Dakota.
[...]

A New Benchmark in Network Capacity

The agreement includes more than 500 individual 400 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) circuits delivered across two geographically diverse routes, providing full path redundancy between Ellendale, ND and Chicago, IL. In total, the network enables 200 terabits of capacity.
[...]

(Switch SVP of Connectivity, Scott Gutierrez):
"[...] This network solution with Nokia was critical. Without it, the customer would not have been positioned to secure a multi-billion-dollar contract. Midco played an integral role as a nimble and innovative partner, collaborating closely with Switch to design and deploy the infrastructure required to meet the moment."
[...]

"We’re proud to support Midco in delivering a highly advanced 400G network,” said Osvaldo Di Campli, EVP Network Infrastructure Sales at Nokia. “This project highlights how next-generation optical innovation is scaling to unlock massive capacity while maintaining performance and resiliency at scale to meet the demands of the AI supercycle."

*** EDIT *** (adding info below)

May 13, 2026
Aureon and Partners Deliver 100-Terabit Route for the AI Era
New multi-carrier transport network connects the Midwest to major data center hubs, reinforcing the region’s role in next-generation connectivity.

Aureon, a trusted provider of connectivity and network solutions, today announced the delivery of a new 100 Tb long-haul transport route engineered to support the rapid growth of large-scale AI and cloud deployments.

Built with premier partners t3 Broadband, Nokia, and Midco, the route links Ellendale, North Dakota to Chicago via a diverse, low-latency fiber corridor across the Midwest, strengthening the region’s role as a critical on-ramp to major data center hubs. This new route is expected to reach 100 Tb by July and is designed to scale to 400 Tb to support future AI-driven growth, with Aureon managing ongoing support and maintenance.

May 19, 2026
Aureon, t3 Broadband, and Nokia Deliver 100-Terabit Route for the AI Era
“The AI supercycle is driving unprecedented demand for high-capacity optical networks, even as the industry navigates a constrained supply environment,”* said Matt Young, VP North America Sales, Nokia. ***“By leveraging our latest generation of coherent optical technology and close collaboration with partners, we were able to deliver scalable capacity.**”

May 07, 2026 - Minot Daily News
U.S. data center boom comes to ND
(Nick Phillips, executive vice president of External Affairs with Applied Digital):
[...] In 2023, Applied Digital built its first AI data center in Ellendale, which opened last fall. An expansion should open later this year and a second expansion next year, Phillips said.

“Ellendale is about a $5 billion total investment for us that does not include customer equipment,” he said. He explained Applied Digital operates the infrastructure but leases to massive cloud computing companies that have their own equipment.

“Basically, we’re just a big landlord with a lot of space,” he said.

According to Applied Digital's 3Q2026 press release, this site is known as Polaris Forge 1:
Entered into agreements with CoreWeave intended to enhance the credit quality of the tenants under the 100 MW (ELN-02) and 150 MW (ELN-03) data center leases at the Polaris Forge 1 campus in Ellendale, North Dakota.

Nokia CEO Justin Hotard has a prior working relationship with Applied Digital when he was VP & GM of HPC, AI, & Labs at HPE.