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Microwave Routes & Tower Wars

Every major low-latency route, tower by tower. The infrastructure that moves billions at the speed of light.
0.9997c Microwave Fiber Obsoleted Tower Infrastructure Line of Sight CME FIX

Line Speed Comparison

The physics of propagation — why air beats glass by 32%

Transmission Media — 6 Technologies
Medium Speed (fraction of c) Speed (km/s) Latency / km (µs) Bandwidth Reliability Cost Tier
Standard fiber (dark) 0.67 200000 5.0 100+ Gbps 99.999% 2
Hollow-core fiber 0.997 299000 3.34 10+ Gbps 99.99% 5
Microwave (6-11 GHz) 0.9997 299900 3.34 0.1-1 Gbps 99.9% 3
Millimeter wave (60-90 GHz) 0.9997 299900 3.34 1-10 Gbps 99.5% 4
Free-space optical (laser) 0.9997 299900 3.34 10-100 Gbps 99.0% 5
LEO satellite (Starlink) 0.9997 299900 3.34 0.1-1 Gbps 99.0% 3

Propagation Speed — Fraction of c

The gap IS the arbitrage opportunity
The refractive index of glass (n=1.47) means light travels at 0.68c in fiber. In air, it's 0.9997c. This 32% speed difference is the entire basis of the microwave arbitrage industry. Every microwave tower, every line-of-sight relay, every weather-redundancy system — all of it exists because photons interact with silicon dioxide electron clouds in glass fiber, introducing a tiny delay at each atomic interaction. Summed over 1,200 km of fiber, those delays cost ~2ms. In HFT, 2ms is a lifetime.

Microwave Routes

Every major low-latency corridor — distance, operators, towers, and the arbitrage each route enables

Chicago–New Jersey (The Golden Route)
20 towers 39 faster
CME Aurora, IL ⟶ NYSE Mahwah / NASDAQ Carteret / Equinix Secaucus, NJ
1130
Distance (km)
6.55
Fiber Latency (ms)
3.97
Microwave Latency (ms)
2.58
Advantage (ms)
39
Advantage (%)
Fiber
Microwave

Operators

Operator Type Status Note
McKay Brothers Independent Active Pioneer. Operational since 2012. Aviat Networks hardware. ~4.09ms one-way. Sells access to multiple firms.
New Line Networks (NLN) Jump/Virtu JV Active Joint venture of Jump Trading + Virtu Financial. Shortest path. Antenna directly across from CME datacenter. ~3.97ms one-way.
Spread Networks Fiber Active (fiber) The original $300M dark fiber (2010). 827 miles, 13.1ms → optimized to ~6.55ms. Still used for bandwidth-heavy data.
Anova Technologies Independent Active Microwave + millimeter wave + laser hybrid. Multiple redundant paths. Sells to buy-side and sell-side.
Custom Connect Independent Active European-based provider expanding to US routes.

Tower Chain

START
CME Aurora, IL
→
#1
Aurora, IL (CME datacenter)
→
#2
West Chicago, IL
→
#3
Elburn, IL
→
#4
Rochelle, IL
→
#5
Shabbona, IL
→
#6
Waterman, IL
→
#7
Paw Paw, IL
→
#8
Earlville, IL
→
#9
Wanatah, IN
→
#10
Plymouth, IN
→
#11
Warsaw, IN
→
#12
Fort Wayne, IN
→
#13
Van Wert, OH
→
#14
Upper Sandusky, OH
→
#15
Mansfield, OH
→
#16
Youngstown, OH
→
#17
Mercer, PA
→
#18
Stroudsburg, PA
→
#19
Blairstown, NJ
→
#20
Mahwah, NJ / Carteret, NJ / Secaucus, NJ
→
END
NYSE Mahwah / NASDAQ Carteret / Equinix Secaucus, NJ
The Arb
E-mini S&P 500 (CME Aurora) vs SPY ETF (NYSE Mahwah). Price change at CME takes 3.97ms to reach NJ via microwave vs 6.55ms via fiber. The 2.58ms advantage window allows capturing the price dislocation before fiber-connected firms react. At peak, this was worth ~$1-5M/day across the industry.
London–Frankfurt
12 towers 54 faster
LD4/Slough (London) ⟶ FR2/Frankfurt
637
Distance (km)
4.67
Fiber Latency (ms)
2.13
Microwave Latency (ms)
2.54
Advantage (ms)
54
Advantage (%)
Fiber
Microwave

Operators

Operator Type Status Note
McKay Brothers (Quincy Data) Independent Active European arm. ~2.15ms one-way.
Jump Trading Proprietary Active Bought radio tower in Hounslow (near Heathrow) for last-mile advantage. Millimeter wave links.
Custom Connect Independent Active Dutch provider. Microwave and millimeter wave.
Anova Technologies Independent Active Laser + microwave hybrid. Belgian route.

Tower Chain

START
LD4/Slough (London)
→
#1
Slough, UK (Equinix LD4)
→
#2
Swingate, UK (Dover cliffs)
→
#3
Dunkerque, France
→
#4
Oostende, Belgium
→
#5
Bruges, Belgium
→
#6
Antwerp, Belgium
→
#7
Eindhoven, Netherlands
→
#8
Venlo, Netherlands
→
#9
Duisburg, Germany
→
#10
Dusseldorf, Germany
→
#11
Cologne, Germany
→
#12
Frankfurt, Germany (Equinix FR2)
→
END
FR2/Frankfurt
The Arb
Eurex (Frankfurt) vs LSE/ICE (London). Bund futures vs UK gilts, Euro Stoxx vs FTSE. 2.54ms advantage enables cross-listing and index arbitrage between the two largest European financial centers.
Tokyo–Osaka
8 towers 50 faster
Equinix TY3 (Tokyo) ⟶ Equinix OS1 (Osaka)
400
Distance (km)
3.0
Fiber Latency (ms)
1.5
Microwave Latency (ms)
1.5
Advantage (ms)
50
Advantage (%)
Fiber
Microwave

Operators

Operator Type Status Note
McKay Brothers Independent Active Japan network operational. Mountain terrain makes routing challenging.

Tower Chain

START
Equinix TY3 (Tokyo)
→
#1
Tokyo (Equinix TY3)
→
#2
Yokohama
→
#3
Shizuoka
→
#4
Hamamatsu
→
#5
Nagoya
→
#6
Suzuka
→
#7
Kyoto
→
#8
Osaka (Equinix OS1)
→
END
Equinix OS1 (Osaka)
The Arb
JPX (Tokyo) vs Osaka Exchange (derivatives). Nikkei 225 futures (Osaka) vs constituent stocks (Tokyo). Japan's equity-futures lead-lag arbitrage.
Chicago–Toronto
10 towers 50 faster
CME Aurora, IL ⟶ TMX/MX (Toronto/Montreal)
700
Distance (km)
5.0
Fiber Latency (ms)
2.5
Microwave Latency (ms)
2.5
Advantage (ms)
50
Advantage (%)
Fiber
Microwave

Operators

Operator Type Status Note
McKay Brothers Independent Active Cross-border microwave. Crosses Lake Michigan routing challenges.

Tower Chain

START
CME Aurora, IL
→
#1
Aurora, IL
→
#2
Gary, IN
→
#3
South Bend, IN
→
#4
Kalamazoo, MI
→
#5
Lansing, MI
→
#6
Flint, MI
→
#7
Port Huron, MI (border)
→
#8
London, ON
→
#9
Hamilton, ON
→
#10
Toronto, ON (TMX)
→
END
TMX/MX (Toronto/Montreal)
The Arb
S&P/TSX futures vs US index products. CAD/USD FX correlation trades. Cross-border ETF arbitrage (XIU vs SPY).
NJ Triangle (Last Mile)
3 towers 46 faster
NYSE Mahwah ⟶ NASDAQ Carteret / CBOE Secaucus
56
Distance (km)
0.35
Fiber Latency (ms)
0.19
Microwave Latency (ms)
0.16
Advantage (ms)
46
Advantage (%)
Fiber
Microwave

Operators

Operator Type Status Note
Multiple firms Various Active Short-range millimeter wave and laser links. Every microsecond matters for cross-exchange arb.

Tower Chain

START
NYSE Mahwah
→
#1
Mahwah, NJ (NYSE)
→
#2
Secaucus, NJ (CBOE/IEX/MEMX)
→
#3
Carteret, NJ (NASDAQ)
→
END
NASDAQ Carteret / CBOE Secaucus
The Arb
Cross-exchange equity arbitrage. Same stock listed on NYSE, NASDAQ, BATS. Price update at one venue creates 160μs window to trade at the others. This is pure latency arbitrage — the strategy that Flash Boys made famous.
London–Paris
6 towers 59 faster
Equinix LD4 (Slough) ⟶ Equinix PA3 (Paris)
340
Distance (km)
2.8
Fiber Latency (ms)
1.15
Microwave Latency (ms)
1.65
Advantage (ms)
59
Advantage (%)
Fiber
Microwave

Operators

Operator Type Status Note
McKay Brothers Independent Active Channel crossing via microwave. Short route, high advantage percentage.

Tower Chain

START
Equinix LD4 (Slough)
→
#1
Slough, UK
→
#2
Swingate/Dover, UK
→
#3
Calais, France
→
#4
Arras, France
→
#5
Compiègne, France
→
#6
Paris (Equinix PA3)
→
END
Equinix PA3 (Paris)
The Arb
Euronext Paris vs LSE. CAC 40 vs FTSE cross-index arbitrage. FX correlation with EUR/GBP.

The Golden Route: Chicago – New Jersey

The most fought-over data path in finance — 1,200 km of tower wars, $300M fiber routes, and nanosecond arms races

The NJ Triangle

Mahwah, NJ — NYSE matching engine. 400,000 sq ft facility. The physical successor to 11 Wall Street.

Carteret, NJ — NASDAQ matching engine (Equinix NY5). Also hosts dark pools and ATS operators.

Secaucus, NJ — CBOE options matching engine (Equinix NY4/NY5). SPX options, VIX futures.

Three data centers, three exchanges, all within 60 km of each other. Every microwave route from Chicago terminates at one of these three points — with cross-connects between them measured in microseconds. The triangle creates a secondary latency game: once the Chicago signal arrives, how fast can you relay between Mahwah, Carteret, and Secaucus?
Spread Networks — The $300M Fiber

2010: Spread Networks laid a new dark fiber route from Chicago to Carteret, NJ — the straightest possible path, drilled through mountains and under rivers. Cost: approximately $300 million. The route shaved 3ms off the previous best fiber path.

Round-trip latency: 13.1ms, down from ~16ms on existing routes. For two years, it was the fastest path between CME and NASDAQ/NYSE.

2012: McKay Brothers launched commercial microwave service on the same corridor at ~8ms round-trip. Spread Networks' $300M fiber was instantly obsoleted for latency-sensitive traffic. The fiber still carries bulk data — but the latency race moved to the towers.

The Microwave Pioneers

McKay Brothers (2012): First commercial microwave service on the Chicago–NJ corridor. Founded by Bob Meade and Stephane Tyc. Offered shared-access microwave at ~4ms one-way. Proved the commercial viability of microwave for HFT.

New Line Networks: Joint venture between Jump Trading and Virtu Financial. Built a proprietary microwave network with an antenna directly across the street from CME's Aurora data center. Achieved sub-4ms one-way latency.

The competition: By 2015, at least a dozen microwave networks were operating on the corridor. Each shaved fractions of a microsecond through better tower placement, higher-gain antennas, and adaptive modulation.

The Tower Wars

The Tower Wars

2011
McKay Brothers builds first CHI-NJ microwave
~20 towers, 4.1ms one-way. First commercial HFT microwave network. Sold access to multiple firms.
2013
Jump Trading builds proprietary network
Jump invests ~$100M in its own tower infrastructure. Won't share with competitors. Shortest possible path.
2015
New Line Networks (Jump + Virtu JV)
Jump and Virtu pool resources. Antenna placed directly across the street from CME datacenter in Aurora, IL. Shaves ~1μs off last-mile.
2016
Jump buys Hounslow tower (London)
Jump Trading acquires radio tower near Heathrow for London-Frankfurt last-mile advantage. Millimeter wave link to LD4 datacenter in Slough.
2017
West Chicago mystery antenna
Mysterious shortwave antenna appears in empty field near CME. Linked to 10Band LLC. Purpose: shortwave radio to Europe (~10ms advantage over any other medium for transatlantic). Physics: shortwave bounces off ionosphere.
2018
Laser links deployed
Anova Technologies deploys free-space optical (laser) links. Higher bandwidth than microwave, same speed, but fog/rain dependent. Hybrid networks emerge.
2019
Gazillion-dollar standoff (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg profiles the escalating tower arms race. Two firms build competing towers on adjacent properties. Each tower costs $5-14M. The advantage sought: <1 microsecond.
2021
LEO satellite experiments
SpaceX Starlink investigated for inter-continental low-latency links. Advantage: great-circle routing vs. cable routing. For transatlantic, satellite could beat undersea fiber.
The West Chicago Mystery Antenna

In 2019, researchers and journalists discovered a large shortwave antenna installation in West Chicago, near CME's Aurora data center. Unlike microwave towers that communicate line-of-sight over hundreds of kilometers, shortwave (HF) radio can bounce off the ionosphere — potentially reaching London or Frankfurt in a single hop.

The implication: someone was attempting to trade transatlantic latency arbitrage using ionospheric skip propagation. HF radio travels at the speed of light through air and the ionosphere, potentially beating both undersea fiber and the most optimized microwave chains across the Atlantic.

The operator was never publicly confirmed. Jump Trading and Citadel Securities were both rumored to be experimenting with the technology.

The Bloomberg "Gazillion-Dollar Standoff"

Bloomberg's 2018 feature documented the escalating arms race between tower operators on the Chicago–NJ route. Firms were buying rural properties solely for tower placement, engaging in bidding wars with farmers for hilltop access, and filing competing FCC license applications for the same relay points.

The standoff: multiple firms needed the same geographic choke points — hilltops with clear line-of-sight in both directions. In some cases, a single hilltop was the only viable relay point for 100 km in either direction. The owner of that hilltop held leverage over billions in potential trading revenue.

Some firms resorted to building taller towers to shoot over obstacles. Others negotiated shared-access agreements. A few simply bought the entire property.

The Last Mile Problem

The Last Mile Problem

The most expensive microseconds are the first and last. Getting signal from the antenna to the exchange matching engine involves: antenna → cable → building entry → patch panel → switch → server NIC. Each component adds nanoseconds. Firms pay millions to be in the closest rack to the exchange switch. CME and NYSE offer 'equalized cable lengths' — all co-located servers have the same cable distance to the matching engine — but the last-mile from the antenna to the building is not equalized.

Weather Risk

Weather Risk

Microwave networks fail in heavy rain (signal attenuation). Firms maintain fiber backup circuits that activate automatically. The latency penalty for falling back to fiber (~2.5ms on CHI-NJ) means losing the race during rain events. Some firms have built redundant microwave paths through different weather zones to mitigate correlated rain fade. The reliability vs. speed tradeoff is a core engineering decision.
Rain fade: At microwave frequencies (6–42 GHz), water droplets absorb and scatter the signal. A moderate rainstorm can increase path loss by 10–20 dB, causing link failure. At higher frequencies (E-band, 71–86 GHz), even light rain degrades the signal. This is why every serious microwave operator maintains a fiber backup — and why the most sophisticated systems use adaptive modulation, reducing data rate to maintain the link during marginal conditions. The latency penalty of reduced modulation (microseconds) is still far better than falling back to fiber (milliseconds).

The Economics of Microseconds

The Economics of Microseconds

A single microsecond of advantage on the CHI-NJ route is estimated to be worth $1-10M per year to a top HFT firm. Building a microwave tower costs $5-14M. Annual spectrum licensing, maintenance, and power: ~$1-2M per tower. A 20-tower network: $100-280M build + $20-40M/year operating. The ROI depends on exclusive vs. shared access — proprietary networks (Jump) capture full value; shared networks (McKay) amortize across clients but allow competing firms to access the same speed.
Back-of-envelope ROI Tower lease: ~$30K–$100K/year per site
Equipment per tower: ~$50K–$200K (radios, antennas, power, backup)
20-tower route: ~$2M–$6M total build + ~$1M–$2M/year maintenance

Revenue per microsecond advantage: estimated $10M–$100M/year for a top-5 firm
Δt ≈ 2ms advantage over fiber × thousands of arbitrage opportunities/day
Exact ROI is proprietary. Public estimates from McKay Brothers' SEC filings and Jump Trading's FCC applications suggest the infrastructure pays for itself within 3–6 months for a firm with sufficient trading volume.

Route Summary

All microwave routes at a glance — the global infrastructure of low-latency trading

All Routes Compared
Route Distance (km) Fiber (ms) Microwave (ms) Advantage (ms) Advantage (%) Towers
Chicago–New Jersey (The Golden Route) 1130 6.55 3.97 2.58 39 20
London–Frankfurt 637 4.67 2.13 2.54 54 12
Tokyo–Osaka 400 3.0 1.5 1.5 50 8
Chicago–Toronto 700 5.0 2.5 2.5 50 10
NJ Triangle (Last Mile) 56 0.35 0.19 0.16 46 3
London–Paris 340 2.8 1.15 1.65 59 6

Latency Comparison — All Routes

Fiber vs. Microwave — The Visual Gap