By Simon Waller, Director, Carrier and Reseller, Zayo Europe<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With AI driving an ever faster pace of change, carriers must consider how to prepare for the short and long term. These four considerations will be crucial.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A strange thing has been happening at telco conferences recently. Where you\u2019d usually get analysts on stage with their latest reliable growth predictions, now demand for bandwidth is moving so fast it feels like nobody knows where we\u2019re heading, or what steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The culprit is of course AI. Everyone senses the tidal wave that\u2019s about to crash on to our shores, but nobody knows what effect it will have. In 25 years in the industry, I\u2019ve seen plenty of \u2018next big thing\u2019 capacity drivers – VoIP, video, cloud – but I\u2019ve never seen analysts at a loss to predict their impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The end of the 100G era?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing is guaranteed, though – bandwidth demand is going to skyrocket, and sooner rather than later. My conversations with carriers are already at a tipping point. Only a year ago, 400G felt like the future, and now it\u2019s what most carriers are asking for. Change has always been rapid in this industry, but it\u2019s getting even faster, and it already feels like the 100G era is coming to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 crucial considerations for carriers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With so much uncertainty around AI, the question for carriers is how to keep up with the current rate of change, while also being ready for the future. At Zayo Europe we\u2019ve been building a 400G-enabled fibre backbone for Europe\u2019s AI era, and working with carriers to integrate it into their networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From our vantage point, we think four things are going to be crucial considerations for carriers in the next twelve to 18 months: footprint, capacity, scalability and future-readiness (in terms of both technology and business strategy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Footprint: <\/strong>As new data centres and edge locations spring up to handle AI workloads, high-capacity fibre is going to be needed everywhere\u2014from the traditional interconnection hubs of Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Dublin and Paris to new metro and even rural locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Route diversity will be a key consideration too, with the FLAP ring already becoming congested on long-established routes. We\u2019ve prepared for this by building a diverse, 400G-enabled European network that connects to the major peering locations and the key data centre hubs where AI models and workloads are already starting to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Capacity: <\/strong>I\u2019ve talked about what I\u2019m hearing from Europe-based carriers, and our US research tells the same story. The latest Zayo Bandwidth Report<\/a> found that in 2024, 400G wavelengths tipped over to account for the largest total terabits (Tb) purchased, outpacing our 10G and 100G solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With 400G now becoming the norm, the buzz at trade shows is all around what\u2019s next. How do we get to 800G and beyond, and when will we have to do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For us, the answer to the second is \u2018as soon as possible\u2019, and we\u2019re already working on multiple 800G European trials. The fibre is there, but it\u2019s the optical technologies that will take it to 800G and beyond. We\u2019re excited to be working with Ciena to double wavelength capacity while improving spectral efficiency and reducing cost per bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Scalability: <\/strong>When the AI tidal wave hits, carriers will have to respond faster than ever before. One of our carrier customers had built a Europe-wide 100G network that was meant to sustain their business for 3\u20135 years. After just 18 months, the growth curve accelerated and they came back to us for 400G circuits. That ability to scale capacity in line with demand will be crucial\u2014and it will have to be done in a way that makes business sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where it pays to work with a provider that owns and operates its own network. Upgrading capacity, connecting new locations, adding new routes\u2014all of this is faster and easier when working with an owner-operator. And there are also the added benefits, like direct access to cutting-edge technical expertise, a state-of-the-art network operations centre, and in-built security measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Future-readiness: <\/strong>All carriers have to be ready for the future, even when a disruptive force like AI means it\u2019s unclear exactly what that means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being technologically ready involves the points I\u2019ve mentioned above\u2014having the right network footprint, with the right capacity, and the ability to scale fast on demand. But the other side to being future-ready is watching where the market is going, understanding what customers are going to need, and deciding where the business wants to play (and doesn\u2019t want to play).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The business strategy side of the AI revolution is going to be a really interesting one for carriers\u2014and one where it helps to partner with a forward-looking fibre operator like Zayo Europe. We\u2019re continually investing in our network and our expertise to ensure that wherever our customers want to go in future, we\u2019re there to support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get help to build a network backbone for the AI revolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a European carrier gearing up to embrace the AI revolution, we should talk. Whether your interest is in long-haul, metro fibre or IP transit, our fully 400G-enabled network and team of infrastructure problem-solvers are ready to support you. If you\u2019d like to discuss any of the challenges outlined in this blog, please do get in touch<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As the Pharmaceutical industry continues to adopt cloud-first strategies, one issue keeps surfacing – the network doesn\u2019t keep up.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7334,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"resource-post-excerpt":"With AI driving an ever faster pace of change, carriers must consider how to prepare for the short and long term. 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