The Bandwidth IG team is fresh off of the late spring / early summer events season, which capped off with a great experience at International Telecoms Week (ITW) and NANOG 88 In Seattle. It’s no surprise that some of the resounding themes at some of the most visible telecom events in the world have been at the center of casual conversations and headlines this year. We’re talking about things like shifting data center landscapes, 5G, emerging markets and artificial intelligence (AI) — ChatGPT, anyone?
As we delve further into the digital era, we expect these technologies to play an even more important role in our daily lives, both professionally and personally. We’re pleased to be part of events like ITW and NANOG where some of the brightest minds in our industry are talking about how these technologies will advance business capabilities, and what we as technology enablers can do to help our customers fully leverage them.
Read on for more on some of the hot topics at these events. Plus, check out the video below of Bruce Garrison, Bandwidth IG’s CEO, live from ITW 2023 talking about how these emerging technologies are driving the need for more dark fiber, the critical infrastructure Bandwidth IG provides.
Emerging Technologies and Markets at the Center
5G
5G was a heavy topic of conversation before and during ITW. Capacity Magazine prominently featured 5G in its issue leading up to the event. In the issue, Rolf Nafziger senior VP, Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier, talked about how 5G is triggering a new industrial revolution because it’s the first protocol designed to connect everything. He says that with the 5G disruption quickly evolving, companies in the industry not only need to make sure their roles are not diminished, but it’s imperative that they’re adding value. Check out the full article on page 52 here.
Data Center Landscape
With data hubs going further out to the edge, data center landscapes are shifting. Demand at the edge is driving the need for more hubs. With data center providers paying more attention to building in areas where power is abundant, reliable and cost effective, new data hubs are being established (which so happens to be one of the things we like about the Greater Portland area).
Emerging Markets
Speaking of Portland, markets like this and others are beginning to emerge across the U.S. and the world. Africa was at the center of discussions at ITW this year as a rapidly growing market. One panel focused on how the digitalization and cloudification of enterprises across African nations is driving investments in fiber, data centers and other critical infrastructure. NANOG addressed the continued need for more infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region. While some parts of APAC are well established, there are still areas with vast needs that exist.
It All Comes Back to Dark Fiber
From enabling 5G to building up new markets, dark fiber is the driving force behind it all. In his JSA TV interview at ITW, Garrison explained that Bandwidth IG was formed in 2019 out of a need to provide the critical infrastructure these technologies rely on.
“Bandwidth IG saw an opportunity with the explosion of internet traffic, cloud, machine learning and artificial intelligence,” explained Garrison. “These platforms are going to run into challenges without much more dense fiber.”
Legacy networks built more than 20 years ago have lost quality over the years due to a variety of factors. Bandwidth IG was founded with the sole purpose of providing purpose-built dark fiber to empower technologies that are changing our lives.
“Purpose-built to us means 100% in-ground, the same fiber type, high-duct packages and a long runway. It’s a critical asset that’s now turning into a utility,” said Garrison.
To learn more about our dark fiber networks in the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Atlanta and Greater Portland areas, visit our Markets page.