- Fiber operators must rethink builds to meet AI’s growing bandwidth and power demands, says James Feger, Lumen SVP product
- Hyperscalers are driving demand for high-strand count fiber and flexible connectivity
- Strategic trenching and network design are key to supporting AI data center growth
FIBER CONNECT, NASHVILLE – Fiber operators are still in relatively early innings figuring out how to build networks to support AI. According to James Feger, Lumen SVP of product, building for AI is just like building a house – you have to start with the foundation.
In this case, it’s the hyperscalers “who are really kicking this thing into gear” and require connectivity between each other as well as with the fiber backbone, Feger said in a fireside chat with FBA chief Gary Bolton.
These data centers are taking up “hundreds and hundreds” of fiber circuits and gigabytes of capacity, and that usage will continue to rise.
Lighting up fiber for AI is not just about connecting two buildings or different types of businesses, Feger said. Operators have to consider industry-specific AI models and create a network infrastructure that can transmit data “from any destination to any destination…depending on which way of the network you’re looking.”
Fiber technology may be well-positioned to handle demand, but there’s still room for more innovation. For instance, strand counts are already “going up exponentially,” said Feger, echoing thoughts from Windstream and Zayo.
“The most difficult part of this is trenching,” he said. “Conduit is a fixed size and the fiber that’s in the ground is a certain strand count and the conduit is full, how do you fix that?”
Thinking more critically about where to lay fiber is also key, particularly when it comes to accommodating data center power needs, Feger said. Operators can no longer focus on just blowing as much fiber as they can, wherever they can.
“Now you have to find that balance that says, okay we’re going through these locations in the middle of the state where there isn’t a lot but my gosh, there’s a lot of power,” he said.
All told, “it’s not the destination you’re trying to get to, but what can you pick up along the way.”
Catch up on all the news from Fiber Connect 2025 here.