Sean Lowry, chief technology officer at Glide looks at the role that dark fibre will play in connected cities.
As the world progresses to create connected cities of the future, the everyday use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse is only expected to grow. However, it is significant to note that these innovations have high power and bandwidth requirements. In fact, according to a recent report published by Proximity Data Centres (PDC), an AI rack today could use the same energy as 25 residential homes.
To harness the power of these bandwidth-intensive innovations in the long term, data centres must leverage dark fibre networks. These reliable networks consume less power and have high capacity, proving to be highly beneficial.
Delivering high-capacity and low latency, dark fibre networks lay the foundations for these technologies to bring futuristic cities into reality. In fact, the global dark fibre market, which is currently valued at $6.6 billion USD in 2023, is estimated to reach $11.9 billion by 2028, recording a staggering CAGR of 12.5% throughout the forecast period.
Dark fibre creates a vast wealth of benefits for businesses, an advantage which is elevated further through the use of edge computing. Edge computing is a form of IT architecture in which computing and storage resources are deployed, using data centres, at the location in which the data is produced. This type of architecture eliminates the time lag in data sharing, as data does not need to travel to and from the cloud, reducing the reliance on high internet bandwidth and connectivity speeds.
This can be implemented into a myriad of use cases. For example, to support the gaming industry, which is set to be worth $300 billion by 2025, or to aid in the continued research and emergence of technologies such as AI and VR.
Rising pressures
Recent years have seen a sharp increase in bandwidth requirements, with the popularity of streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube placing enormous strain on networks. These applications require substantial bandwidth in order to provide high-quality and seamless streaming. With the focus continuing to shift towards 4k and 8k resolution, which both require additional bandwidth capabilities, the pressure on networks is set to rise further.
Meanwhile, high-bandwidth demands within the gaming industry are also likely to grow. Today, gaming giants need to deliver a high-quality user experience (UX) to win the loyalty of billions of gamers globally. This requires high bandwidth as it is closely related to latency, which is the delay between a player's action and the game's response. Higher bandwidth connections can help reduce latency, making the game far more responsive overall, with the reduced possibility of buffering resulting in a more seamless gaming experience.
The need for reliable and consistent connections
Network reliability is another crucial element that plays a key role in ensuring a great UX for gamers. With the rise of cloud gaming services, such as Xbox Cloud Gaming and PlayStation Now, as well as the continued integration of VR capabilities into gaming setups, the pressure on networks is becoming immense. VR environments, in particular, require a significant volume of data to be transmitted, in order to render visuals without graphical glitches or mistakes. According to the PDC report, vast connectivity is required for these metaverse developments to further grow.
These services must be equipped with incredibly high bandwidth to provide a lag-free experience and to maintain high-quality graphics for users across the network. For edge data centres that cater for large audiences, it is important to adapt and alter their offerings in line with the growing demand. The answer to this area lies in the usage of dark fibre loops.
Introducing dark fibre loops
A dark fibre loop is a network infrastructure consisting of optical fibre cables that have been installed but are not currently in use for data transmission. They are an invaluable asset when used to provide room for future network expansion. As the demand for data increases, organisations can activate additional fibres within the loop to accommodate more data traffic without the need for extensive new construction or disruption to the network.
Dark fibre networks are highly scalable, elevating them to a highly promising prospect for the future. Implementing dark fibre loops into data centres and fibre cities allows companies to operate far more efficiently, minimising any potential disruption caused by changes in traffic patterns.
Firstly, the loops can be used to create backups in network connections. If one section of the loop is damaged or experiences an outage, traffic can be diverted through the other part of the loop, maintaining the overall network reliability. Secondly, organisations that deploy their own dark fibre loops have complete control over the infrastructure, enhancing network security and reducing the risk of data interception.
This also allows implementers to customise the equipment and technology used to best meet their needs. Dark fibre provides a reliable solution for expanding network capacity, allowing data centres and fibre cities to scale their offerings alongside a changing demand, as they can enable or disable the loop whenever it is required.
Preparing for the future
As emerging technologies such as AI and VR continue to evolve, traditional network architectures need significant advancements to cater to these technologies’ high-bandwidth requirements. The answer to this issue takes the form of dark fibre, which allows data centres to be much more adaptable, allowing them to scale their connectivity offerings in line with the demand that they are experiencing.
As technology continues to advance and becomes more data-intensive, investing in the installation and maintenance of these networks holds the key for the connected fibre cities of the future to flourish and operate with minimal disruption.