Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU)
Gridlync land and infrastructure glossary.
An IRU is a long-term, effectively irrevocable right to use a portion of a fiber-optic network or conduit, typically for many years, without owning the underlying asset. It is common in telecom and fiber transactions. The buyer pays a large upfront sum for capacity, such as a fiber pair or specific strands, plus ongoing operations and maintenance charges, and gains use rights without owning or maintaining the cable. IRUs commonly run 15 to 25 years and are treated almost like ownership for the term.
Fiber operators manage IRUs alongside leases and right-of-way. Gridlync tracks each IRU’s term, payments, and obligations in the same system as the rest of the network’s land rights.
Example
CloudReach buys a 20-year IRU on a dark fiber pair along Continental Telecom’s 600-mile backbone for $9 million upfront plus $40,000 a year in maintenance, gaining exclusive use of those strands without owning the cable.