The research revealed that bandwidth demand is growing rapidly among hyperscalers, operators, and enterprises, and that a significant increase in fiber is needed to meet anticipated capacity strains. Specifically, third-party research conducted by Zayo revealed that 193 million kilometers of long-haul fiber and 112 million kilometers of metropolitan fiber will be required to meet capacity forecasts by 2030. Without this additional infrastructure, bandwidth shortages are imminent.
“The increasing demand for connectivity from data centers, hyperscalers, and operators is on track to create a bandwidth shortage in the near future. If you don’t have the bandwidth you need today, it could be too late in 10 years,” explains Bill Long, director of product and strategy at Zayo. “Failure to address this connectivity lag could lead to operational bottlenecks, resource shortages, and long-term competitive disadvantages.”
Key findings:
The bandwidth growth rate is astronomical: between 2023 and 2024, metropolitan dark fiber purchases increased by 268%. Over the same period, long-haul dark fiber purchases increased by 52.6%. According to an independent study by Zayo, demand for metropolitan and long-haul fiber is expected to continue growing at an average of 20% and 35%, respectively, over the next five years.
Driven by AI and digital transformation, high-bandwidth use cases are consuming more than ever: between 2020 and 2024, hyperscalers and operators accounted for 91.2% of all metropolitan dark fiber purchases and 66.8% of all wavelength agreements exceeding 1 TB of capacity with Zayo. New AI use cases are driving a record number of large-scale purchases of wavelength and fiber, primarily by hyperscalers, software companies, and technology firms seeking a competitive edge through technology.
Emerging data center markets are gaining momentum: Demand for long-haul routes and metropolitan wavelength connectivity skyrocketed in emerging and non-traditional data centers, such as Memphis and Salt Lake City, with year-over-year increases of 4,300% and 348.28%, respectively, between 2023 and 2024. These cities offer ideal geospatial optimization between fiber and power, ensuring that sufficient fiber can be deployed in locations with more affordable power sources to meet demand.
Vertical markets are experiencing record demand growth: The manufacturing sector saw one of the largest increases in bandwidth demand as a result of digital acceleration and rapid reindustrialization across North America. Between 2020 and 2024, the sector saw a 364.34% increase in acquired wavelength capacity, rising from 1.88 TB to 8.71 TB. The software and technology industry also experienced a massive 450% increase in acquired wavelength capacity, from 9.6 TB to 52.12 TB, as this sector continues to demand more bandwidth to manage growing data demands, power cloud services, and ensure smooth performance for cutting-edge applications.
Increased access to remote areas is generating additional demand: partnerships between terrestrial giants and satellite providers aim to eliminate dead zones, boost emergency communications, and improve network resilience, but they also increase bandwidth requirements. Seamless integration between terrestrial and satellite networks enables the adoption of IoT in remote areas, further increasing the strain on resources.
What does this mean?
As widespread bandwidth consumption continues to grow and is projected to continue increasing, it's clear that innovative organizations need more bandwidth to utilize AI and emerging technologies. However, building the necessary fiber networks to provide this bandwidth at scale is complex, costly, and risky without the right expertise.
As the only company to have built large-scale, long-haul fiber optic networks in the last decade, Zayo is actively investing to provide the critical fiber optic infrastructure to avoid a potential bandwidth gap. In January, the company unveiled its plans to build more than 8,046 kilometers of long-haul fiber optic routes to meet the growing demand of AI workloads. Zayo recently made progress in building the first part of this long-haul fiber commitment with a new 619-kilometer fiber route between Chicago and Columbus. In addition, in March, the company announced plans to acquire Crown Castle's fiber solutions business, adding over 160,000 kilometers of metropolitan routes to the Zayo network to support the growth in bandwidth demand driven by AI and enterprises.
To see the full report and learn how Zayo helps customers meet growing digital demands and future-proof their infrastructure, visit: https://www.zayo.com/info/the-zayo-bandwidth-report/
