XAVIER RENARD DATA NETWORKS
Modern data-intensive applications, artificial intelligence (AI), 8K streaming, and high-performance cloud computing are creating a data surge that is straining Europe’s digital backbone. Hyperscale and edge data centres are multiplying across the continent to address the accelerated bandwidth demand, which is growing at a pace that outstrips the capabilities of conventional infrastructure. While optical fibre is often hailed as offering virtually unlimited bandwidth, practical transmission restraints are increasingly apparent when transmitting ultra-high data rates over long distances of several hundred kilometres or more, writes Xavier Renard , marketing director at ACOME Group. CAN EXISTING NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE COPE? DATA CENTRES ARE GROWING IN NUMBER AND COMPLEXITY.
T he pressure on existing fibre infrastructure to deliver fast, reliable, long- distance connectivity has never been higher. As a result, the industry must urgently explore more energy-efficient and scalable alternatives that are built to support digital services for many years to come.
connection over long distances. With fibre networks now the dominant fixed access infrastructure, ensuring their resilience and reliability is increasingly critical, especially in the context of rising climate-related disasters such as floods and wildfires, where dependable communication is vital for emergency response and public safety. Telecommunications networks, particularly the long-distance backbone infrastructure that aggregates high-capacity traffic, are under increasing strain to accommodate this surge, with some already approaching their capacity limits. ARE CURRENT NETWORKS FIT FOR THE FUTURE? The digital economy’s expanding footprint requires a stronger, more capable physical foundation. One that can support sustained high- speed transmission without frequent upgrades or excessive operational costs. For decades, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has allowed operators to expand optical fibre networks and support escalating bandwidth demands. Transmission rates have climbed from 10Gbps in the 1990s to 800 Gbps – and, in cutting-edge systems, to heights of 1.2 Tbps and 1.6 Tbps – per wavelength today. However, physical constraints are beginning to limit the scalability of WDM. The transmission capacity of an optical link is fundamentally constrained by a trade-off between data rate and transmission distance. As per-wavelength bit rates increase, so does the required
optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR), which degrades with distance due to fibre attenuation and other factors. This means that higher bit rates reduce the maximum viable transmission distance unless compensated by advanced technologies or additional regeneration.
A NEW DATA (CENTRE) LANDSCAPE FOR EUROPE
Over the past four years, the volume of data created worldwide has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33%, reaching 149 zettabytes (ZB) in 2024. Data transmitted over fixed and mobile networks has grown at a comparable pace, at 26% over the same period. In 2024, according to CBRE, the demand for data centres in Europe exceeded new supply. As well as demanding more of network architecture, in Europe, data centre power capacity is projected to increase by 21% by 2027. The computational power needed for AI in particular is estimated to be doubling around every 100 days. However, this expansion is constrained by energy supply limitations. Data centre development is also becoming more geographically distributed. Beyond traditional hubs like Frankfurt and Amsterdam, facilities are emerging in secondary and rural locations. This reflects a strategic shift: organisations are seeking proximity to renewable energy sources, lower land costs, and end-user markets. However, this dispersion increases the burden on metro and long-haul networks to provide high-capacity, low-latency
In the most widely deployed single- mode fibres, called G.652.D, these limitations are increasingly problematic. Frequent use of repeaters and regenerators is often required, leading to significantly higher capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX). Optical amplifiers and signal regenerators are two critical components that underpin long- distance transmission. As optical signals travel through fibre, they gradually lose strength due to attenuation. Amplifiers are widely deployed along the transmission path to compensate Typical transmission reach using a G.652.D fibre depending on the bitrate per wavelength (Source: ACOME Group and Sumitomo Electrical Industries, Ltd.)
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| ISSUE 41 | Q2 2025
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