Hunton has been at the forefront of the explosive growth in digital infrastructure for over 30 years. Whether you build, finance, own, run, procure, regulate, or otherwise use digital infrastructure, our teams deliver the experience and market knowledge you need to deploy cutting-edge technologies around the world.

Our practice is end-to-end, beginning with the development and financing of digital infrastructure (whether subsea or terrestrial) and data centers, extending to agreements for commercialization and end-use, and covering the full range of enterprise IT counseling, contracting, and disputes.

We are widely recognized for our work in this area, including rankings in Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The Legal 500, The Legal 500 Latin America, The Best Lawyers in America, and Latin Lawyer magazine.

Telecommunications Infrastructure

Leading-Edge Experience. Our close-knit and multidisciplinary team is devoted to developing state-of-the-art, groundbreaking digital communications infrastructure, including data centers, subsea and terrestrial fiber optic networks, and towers. We work for players in every part of the market, including some of the world’s largest system developers and operators, “big tech” companies, content aggregators, landing party service providers, network developers and operators, telecommunications equipment suppliers and manufacturing companies, governmental and quasi-governmental entities, data center operators, and end-users of telecom equipment and services, as well as some of the leading lenders and investors in the industry.

Deep Knowledge. We are deeply experienced in negotiating project documents for the most complex developments, ranging from joint-build agreements and concession agreements, to supply contracts and commercialization agreements, to the installation and operation of hundreds of fiber and ILA networks across the United States. We understand the appropriate risk allocation among project participants, including from the perspective of suppliers, developers and financing sources and apply our market knowledge and strong relationships in the industry to engineer balanced and efficient solutions for difficult and novel projects.

Comprehensive Support. We support your project with the combined global resources of our entire firm, including attorneys with infrastructure-savvy subject matter knowledge in real estate, tax, energy and utilities, privacy and cybersecurity, agency finance, technology contracting, data protection, insurance recovery, intellectual property, and disputes. Our work routinely includes network supply contract negotiations and development; system construction and implementation issues (e.g., permitting, possible force majeure); fronthaul and backhaul matters; landing party agreements and arrangements; consortium agreement negotiations and development; terrestrial, network operations centers and marine maintenance agreements and arrangements; colocation agreements; fiber sales (IRU and non-IRU) and exchanges; spectrum sharing arrangements; concession agreements and commercialization agreements, regulatory and network security matters; and more.

Importantly, our digital infrastructure and project finance practices work closely to apply time-tested project finance models and craft new solutions for digital projects. Members of our team have worked in the domestic and international project finance markets for decades and are recognized in the field of innovative project delivery, having devised for national governments around the world many of the public-private partnership techniques that are increasingly used by counties, municipalities, and US states for infrastructure renewal today.

Data Centers

Hunton has broad experience advising on large-scale projects that involve the financing, construction, development, powering, leasing, operating, acquisition, and sale of data centers, data center portfolios, and related services. That experience includes data center outsourcing, internet hosting, cloud computing, procurement and delivery of traditional and renewable energy, implementation of local and state development and tax incentive programs, and a full range of “as a service” and AI-enabled offerings and involves developments nationwide, including many in Northern Virginia’s Dulles Technology Corridor, through the Midwest, Texas, and California.

Broad Experience. Our data center attorneys have handled dozens of data center development and financing projects for participants on all sides and know the market in depth. We deploy effective, multidisciplinary teams that offer a unique range of experience, from an in-house development role with a world-leading technology company, to representation of multi-tiered joint ventures and borrowers, lenders, and equity investors in the construction and post-construction operation and commercialization of data centers as one-off build-to-suits, colocation facilities, or in the context of phased development and portfolios.

This extends to leveraging our leading energy team to counsel data center end users, developers, operators, and energy companies on key issues and innovations related to powering data centers, including the co-location of energy generation facilities (both traditional and for innovative power sources like natural gas with carbon capture, renewables, and even nuclear) with large scale AI platform data centers. We work closely with our clients at every step of a project—from initial conception and structuring; siting, permitting, and construction; negotiation and preparation of project documents; through the financing of facilities through traditional institutional means, first lien mortgage financing, equity investment, and portfolio/project finance structures. We also represent agents and lenders in transactions involving mortgage and construction facilities, senior secured credit facilities, term loans, and revolving commitments to borrowers in data center development and operations.

Our leading enterprise IT and privacy and cybersecurity teams have helped hundreds of end-users manage procurement processes and contracts for long-term data center and related IT infrastructure services worth billions of dollars. These transactions typically involve business-critical, data-intensive services for financial services, retail and manufacturing firms, and critical infrastructure for utilities and energy companies. They often include negotiation of master services agreements and SLAs for data center operations, end-user computing, hosting, deskside support, and managed network and security services, as well as software and services agreements for enterprise IT operations.

Market Knowledge. We know the commercial market and regulatory environments and tap that knowledge to deliver customized, creative, and practical solutions for fast-changing projects. We capitalize on our industry intelligence to advise investors, developers, and acquirors (including technology firms, REITs, and data center end-users) in the full range of transaction types and structures nationwide. We are uniquely positioned to guide clients through the complexities of data center projects, including pre-development zoning and land-use, permitting, environmental, energy, tax, and economic development and government relations consulting. We also provide the necessary due diligence critical to the success of any data center development project and negotiate the accompanying joint venture agreements, purchase and sale agreements, equipment procurement contracts, design and construction contracts, leases, electric service agreements, and other transaction documents. Our work often extends to counseling on trade compliance and regulatory, security, IP, labor, and other legal issues, and advising our clients to assess and mitigate against development and operational impacts associated with sabotage, labor unrest, cyber attacks, and other threats

We have assembled a core team and extensive network of data center-savvy real estate, finance, tax, project, energy, regulatory, environmental, data protection, technology contracting, and disputes lawyers in key US and offshore markets who focus on large infrastructure and portfolio projects around the globe, which allows us to provide seamless, integrated client service.

Our recent work includes:

Telecommunications Infrastructure Transactions

• Advised on the builds and development of some of the most significant and recognizable subsea systems around the world, including the highest capacity and most technologically advanced Trans-Atlantic, Trans-Pacific, and South American systems. Our work includes over two dozen systems spanning over 120,000 km, including those illustrated below:
  
  Our work included the negotiation of the submarine cable construction and maintenance agreements, joint build agreements and cable landing station arrangements (including as it relates to the conduit and operations and maintenance agreements).
• Advised on the build and development of numerous terrestrial backhaul and broadband networks in the US, South America, Europe, and Africa.
• Assisted in the development, expansion or commercialization of cable landing stations or hybrid data centers in North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.
• Advised several US state governments on the design build or public private partnership procurement of broadband networks. Our work includes representation of the California P3 initiative for middle-mile broadband in a nearly 2,000 km terrestrial network and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission on its DBFOM procurement of a broadband fiber optic network PPP project along the entire 550 mile right of way of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
• Represented lenders and investors (including private equity firms and infrastructure funds) in connection with the financing of billions of dollars of digital infrastructure.
• Represented hyperscalers, telecoms, and investors in connection with the purchase and sale of digital infrastructure assets, including the purchase and sale of terrestrial and subsea fiber, wireless assets and towers.
• Represented a hyperscaler, working hand in hand with the client and its vendors, in the identification, diligence and acquisition of easement, fee and leasehold interests for the installation and operation of its fiber and ILA network in hundreds of locations across the US.

Data Center Transactions

• Represented a Fortune 50 hyperscaler with the development of multiple data centers, trans-oceanic cable projects, landing stations, and related infrastructure in the US and abroad. Our work includes negotiating purchase agreements, landing station and other lease agreements, easement agreements, economic incentive agreements, and related diligence and permitting. Recently, we assisted this client with the financing, acquisition, development and leasing of a phased multi-billion dollar data center campus in Virginia.
• Represented a real estate company in the development of a five-building, 130-acre data center campus that, once complete, will deliver over 300 MW of IT load in Prince William County, Virginia. We provided initial due diligence and secured financing in excess of $1.75 billion (to date) from a variety of lenders in multiple first lien mortgage financings, secured by leases to multiple hyperscale tenants.
• Represented an energy company in connection with the development a state-of-the-art power plant project to be co-located with a large US data center facility.
• Represented an institutional lender in the $365 million construction financing of a 460,000 square foot data center facility in Northern Virginia with a critical load of approximately 43 MW of electric power. We negotiated the construction loan and related documents, including the SNDA for the data center lease, construction contracts, and the amendment to the existing MCC declaration of protective covenants. We researched and analyzed issues related to environmental permitting, title insurance policy, reinsurance agreements, zoning, proffers, and site plan approvals related to the data center facility construction and development. We also subsequently assisted with the $252 million expansion to the project loan facility and secured $220 million in senior construction financing and $125 million in mezzanine financing related to this project.
• Represented the lead lender in senior and mezzanine loans totaling $807 million for the ongoing development of a data center campus in Loudon County, Virginia. We drafted and negotiated loan documents, security instruments, and other closing deliverables, and performed comprehensive real estate due diligence on the subject property.
• Represent tenants and owners in leasing and co-location arrangements for data center facilities, including transactions for private equity facility owners and financial services, healthcare and retail tenants.
• Represented one of the largest US retailers in the sale of its data center in the Northeast US to a leading IT services company and a related long-term services agreement.