Oregon DOT holds 20 fiber permits to check data center links

The Oregon Department of Transportation has suspended at least 20 right-of-way permit applications for fiber-optic cable projects. The agency is reviewing these applications to determine if they support operations for data centers located on state lands.

This action follows an executive order issued by Governor Tina Kotek in September. The order directs state agencies to pause approvals for new or pending leases, easements, and permits for data centers on state properties. State officials say they are verifying whether the telecommunications projects are specific to data centers because they have limited insight into the full purpose of the applications.

Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for the transportation agency, wrote in an email that the proposed applications permit the installation of large amounts of buried broadband or fiber conduit on state right of way. He noted that these installations are typically along the highway shoulder, which strongly indicated a potential connection to data centers. Glenn stated that the agency did not set a deadline for the companies to respond to inquiries and that the timing is dependent on the proposers.

Three companies control the paused applications: Zayo Group Holdings Inc., Lumen, and Intermountain Infrastructure Group. All three own large-scale fiber optic networks made of underground cables connecting data centers, cellular providers, and other processing facilities across the West. Representatives for the companies have not responded to requests for comment over the past two weeks.

Zayo completed a 622-mile long-haul fiber optic cable route in 2025 connecting data centers in Prineville and Umatilla to Reno, Nevada. The transportation department paused nine permits for Zayo to lay cables along Oregon highways from Morrow to Multnomah counties and between Wheeler and Clackamas counties.

Lumen owns six data centers in Oregon, including locations in Portland, Eugene, and Bandon. The department paused nine permits for Lumen to lay underground cables from Wasco to Umatilla, Baker, Lincoln, Linn, and Malheur counties. Intermountain does not own data centers in Oregon but has been building a fiber infrastructure corridor across the Pacific Northwest. Two of its permits to expand into Umatilla County are now on pause.

The Data Center Coalition, an industry group representing tech companies, said the permit pauses are burdensome to companies following state rules. Khara Boender, the coalition's West Coast director of government affairs, said the pauses create uncertainty about whether work can move forward. She stated that pausing agency work midstream sends a concerning signal to companies weighing long-term investment in Oregon.