Brightlio Blog

Arkansas is emerging as a notable location for colocation services in the South Central United States. The state offers businesses a strong mix of affordability, operational reliability, and regional accessibility. According to Data Center Map, Arkansas currently hosts four data centers, reflecting steady growth and interest in infrastructure investment. Combined with favorable state policies, the region presents a viable option for companies seeking dependable colocation options outside major metropolitan hubs.

Strategic Location and Connectivity

Arkansas holds a strong geographic advantage with its central position in the United States. This location allows businesses to establish low-latency connections to major markets such as Dallas, Memphis, Kansas City, and beyond.

Companies operating from Arkansas can reach customers across the South, Midwest, and East Coast more quickly, supporting better service delivery and reducing network response times across a wide footprint.

The state’s transportation infrastructure further supports its strategic value. Arkansas is served by multiple interstate highways, Class I railroads, and a network of regional airports, allowing for reliable movement of goods and personnel.

This multimodal connectivity complements the state’s digital infrastructure, offering businesses multiple pathways to maintain operational resilience.

These facilities benefit from the same low-latency connections and carrier diversity, making Arkansas a strong choice for businesses requiring secure, high-performance digital infrastructure in a centrally located environment.

Economic and Tax Incentives

Arkansas has enacted legislation to encourage data center development. In April 2023, the state passed House Bill 1654 (Act 819), which provides sales and use tax exemptions for qualified data centers. These exemptions apply to data center equipment, construction costs, certain services, and electricity used by the facility.

To qualify, a data center must invest at least $500 million within five years and pay a minimum of $1 million in annual compensation to employees in the state over two years following the start of operations.

The legislation also expanded the scope of tax abatements to include expansions or additions to existing facilities. Additionally, it introduced a definition for large data centers as facilities comprising two or more non-adjacent physical locations connected by fiber, with total investments of $2 billion or more .

These incentives, combined with some of the lowest utility costs in the nation, contribute to the overall affordability of operating data centers in Arkansas. 

The average electric rate in Arkansas stands at 12.36 cents per kilowatt-hour, which translates to approximately $130 per month for typical usage levels. These competitive rates directly lower the cost burden associated with running power-intensive facilities like data centers. 

Climate and Energy Efficiency

Arkansas’s climate and natural resources support energy-efficient data center operations. The state’s water resources are sufficient to meet data center cooling needs, and the low cost of electricity contributes to operational efficiency.

Cooling systems in data centers can consume a significant portion of total energy use. Implementing efficient cooling technologies, such as liquid cooling and hybrid systems, can reduce energy consumption.

Arkansas’s relatively low electricity rates make it an attractive location for data centers. 

Leading Colocation Providers in Arkansas

Let’s check out some of the top colocation providers in Arkansas: 

1. TierPoint – Little Rock Data Center

Located at 15707 Chenal Parkway in Little Rock, Arkansas, TierPoint’s 30,000 sq. ft. data center is built for resilience, high availability, and regulatory compliance. The facility supports colocation, cloud infrastructure, and disaster recovery with physical security features such as ballistics-resistant walls and a hurricane-rated roof. A dedicated on-site Network Operations Center (NOC) provides 24/7 monitoring to maintain operational continuity. This facility is suited for businesses that require secure, compliant, and scalable IT environments. (Data Center Map)

Facility Features

• 30,000 sq. ft. hardened facility
• Ballistics-resistant walls, windows, and doors
• Hurricane-rated roof
• 2N power distribution with parallel UPS systems
• On-site Network Operations Center (NOC)

Services Offered

• Private and shared cages, cabinets, and individual servers
• Remote hands support
• Bare metal and public cloud servers
• Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)
• Managed and cloud services

Compliance and Certifications

• SOC 1, SOC 2
• HIPAA, PCI Colo*, GLBA

2. Mainstream Technologies – Little Rock Data Center

Located in downtown Little Rock since 2008, the Mainstream Technologies Data Center provides secure hosting for client applications, hardware, and critical data backups. The facility spans 5,700 sq ft of raised floor and meets Tier 2+ standards. (Data Center Map)

Key Features

• Space: 5,700 sq ft raised space
• Power: 325 KVA UPS, 1 Megawatt generator
• Cooling: Dual Liebert HVAC units, continuous air filtration
• Fire Suppression: FM-200 gas system at 8% concentration
• Network: Redundant fiber up to 10Gbps, VLAN support, gigabit cabling

Security

• Biometric and badge access on all entrances
• Security cameras with DVR coverage inside and outside

Services

• Co-location
• Managed hosting: setup, patching, backups, monitoring

3. Ritter Communications Data Technology Center – Jonesboro, Arkansas

Ritter Communications opened a $8 million data center in Jonesboro in late 2020. It is the first provider-grade facility in Northeast Arkansas. Local businesses get secure, high-performance IT infrastructure without depending on Little Rock or St. Louis. The 8,544 sq. ft. site was finished on time despite the pandemic.

It meets California seismic standards and can handle EF3 tornadoes. Features include biometric security, clean-agent fire suppression, modular-inline cooling, .75 MW power, N+2 dual-fuel backup, and carrier-neutral fiber from multiple sources. A 24/7 Network Operations Center supports customers. The site is HIPAA, PCI, and SOC 2 certified. (Ritter Communications)

Facility Features

• 8,544 sq. ft. of data and cloud storage space
• 82 full racks, four cages (4 racks each), additional colocation, and storage
• N+2 dual-fuel backup power with .75 MW capacity
• Carrier-neutral, geo-diverse fiber entrance
• Modular-inline cooling and clean-agent fire suppression
• 24/7/365 staffed Network Operations Center

Compliance and Security

• HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2 compliant
• Biometric access controls
• EF3 tornado and seismic-code compliant construction

The Data Technology Center positions Ritter Communications as a key technology provider in Northeast Arkansas, offering secure data, cloud computing, and disaster recovery solutions to regional businesses.

Final Thoughts 

Arkansas’s combination of strategic location, supportive economic policies, and growing infrastructure makes it an attractive destination for colocation services. Businesses seeking reliable and cost-effective infrastructure solutions can find valuable opportunities among the state’s data center providers.​