Communications infrastructure company Zayo has reached a landmark point in its European fiber network expansion, with the recent announcement of a “fully enabled” 400G long-haul network.
400G marks the next level in cloud infrastructure, meeting demands for increased bandwidth for network providers.
Zayo’s services consist of cloud based infrastructure, fiber and bandwidth connectivity and colocation centers. Built on five subsea cables, the European network provides power to 2,500 on-net buildings. It also provides power to 125 core points of presence (PoPs), as well as 16 fiber markets.
In a statement, Chief Operating Officer at Zayo Europe, announced that “early adopters” of 400G are new fiber players in the UK, using companies such as Zayo for connectivity between data centers in key cities, concentrating network traffic.
The upgrades will ultimately enable Zayo to connect all of their major data centers in Europe. By the end of 2024, the organization aims to have its North American network installed with 400G upgrades.
North America’s reach is significantly larger than that of that in Europe, with greater numbers of routes and metropolitan cities, therefore taking longer to expand 400G capabilities in the area.
As of April this year, it was reported that 80% of Zayo’s services stood at 100G, but more 400G routes are being added to the network on a rolling basis.
In the announcement, Zayo highlighted the ever increasing demand for 400G, with research revealing that 74% of corporations rely on 400G connectivity with enterprise locations and cloud providers. 58% rely on it for communication between data centers.
More energy efficient than stacking networks with 100G connectivity, 400G reduces the need for buying four lots of 100G for the same power provision. Zayo’s prices have been relatively high in the past 18 months and the increase in 400G connectivity raises questions around economical savings as power use is reduced.
Zayo is now continuing its exploration into 800G wavelengths, announcing last year that the company successfully operated the world’s longest 800G wavelength in a commercial network at 1,044.51km.