FiberLight targets AI hyperscalers with DCI network upgrade

• FiberLight is one of many US long-distance operators looking to capitalise on the growing demand for datacentre interconnect (DCI) services
• It is deploying the latest optical transport network equipment from 1Finity, Fujitsu’s recently-formed telecom equipment subsidiary
• The deployment ties in with a couple of key telecom sector investment and services trends

FiberLight, one of the many metro and long-distance network operators benefiting from the growing need for datacentre interconnect (DCI) services in the US, is deploying the latest optical network transport technology from 1Finity, Fujitsu’s new telecom infrastructure subsidiary, to help it offer 800 Gbit/s wavelength services to its datacentre customers. 

Dallas-Fort Worth-based FiberLight boasts more than 20,000 fibre route miles in Texas (home to a lot of new datacentre construction), Florida, Georgia, Maryland, VIrgina and Washington DC: Its network is connected to more than 180 datacentres (but reaches 280 datacentre facilities), more than 1,900 mobile towers and more than 300,000 buildings.  

In order to offer enhanced network capacity services to its customers, the operator, a long time Fujitsu optical networking technology customers, is deploying 1Finity’s T900 Series Transponder – a compact, high-capacity 2RU system – to help “deliver seamless scalability and hyper-reliable terabit speeds for AI hyperscalers while reducing overall cost per bit per kilometer,” noted 1Finity in this announcement.

The vendor added that the T900 transponder boasts “unique closed-loop liquid cooling technology” that helps network operators consume significantly less power when provisioning 800 Gbit/s wavelengths to customers, an important metric as concerns about the datacentre sector’s energy consumption requirements grow. 

“The race to deliver AI infrastructure is on, and it demands networks that can move massive volumes of data, fast,” stated FiberLight CEO Bill Major. “Our partnership with 1Finity and the deployment of the T900 puts us at the forefront, delivering best-in-class optical transport solutions that combine high bandwidth, scalability, and rock-solid reliability. This is about meeting demand head-on and building the most trusted, future-ready networks in the industry, without compromising on performance, scale, or cost efficiency.” 

“Our continuing collaboration with FiberLight enables its top-tier hyperscale customers to meet AI data demands, reaching up to 30% farther in long-haul networks with 800G wavelength transmissions,” stated Rod Naphan, chief revenue officer and head of customer success at 1Finity. “In fact, our T900 transponder set the record for 1.2 Tbit/s per wavelength optical signal transmission in a commercial network, clearly demonstrating the high-speed, sustainable transport performance needed to support the hyperscale market, today and tomorrow,” added Naphan.

News of the deployment comes in the wake of a Dell’Oro Group report that suggests investments in optical transport network technology are set to grow at 5% per year for the next five years, driven in part by DCI network investments like those being made by FiberLight. 

The investments being made by FiberLight, which earlier this year secured a $500m refinancing deal to “refinance existing debt and to allow FiberLight to accelerate strategic initiatives, including organic network expansion and enhanced service delivery for both new and existing customers across enterprise, hyperscale, and government sectors,” also tie in with a growing trend in the global telecom sector – an increase in capex for either new networks, or additional capacity/upgrades, to support the increasing volumes of data traffic generated by AI/ML workloads. 

The trend has been most noticeable in the US with the announcements during the past year from Lumen Technologies and Zayo, which is not surprising as the US is home to many of the world’s largest datacentres and the location for a lot of new datacentre construction. 

But as we point out in our new DSP Leaders Report, Trends in Telco AI Infrastructure, there are examples too in Europe – for example, Arelion in the Nordics and Neos Networks in the UK – and in Asia – for example, HKT in Hong Kong. And news of FiberLight’s network evolution comes only a day after Tata Communications announced it is building an “advanced AI-ready network” for Amazon Web Services (AWS) that will connect the hyperscaler’s three main infrastructure facilities in India across 18,000km of fibre routes boasting network capacity of 7.2 Tbit/s – see Tata Comms lands ‘AI backbone’ deal from AWS.

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV