Dark Fiber – Introduction, Benefits & Applications

Have you ever heard of dark fiber? Many of our readers are not very well informed about the definition of "dark fiber", its history and background. Some may think that "dark fiber" is a term that describes a black fiber optic cable. Wait, wait! That's not true. Dark fiber is a term that refers to underground fiber optic cables that are not in service and have never been in service. Some people will need help understanding why people dig up the ground and lay fiber optic cables to leave them unused. Don't worry - you'll learn all about dark fiber in this post.

The Copper Vs. Fiber Fight & Dark Fiber Roots 

Do we have some folks here who witnessed copper's downfall and fiber's rise during the 80s and 90s? If yes, they are the best people to tell us how optical fiber came and started dominating the market. After the inception of the optical fiber cable, it became evident that this newly launched technology was going to change the way used to communicate and network forever. Everyone started shifting to the optical fiber. Optical fiber cable is better in terms of speed and bandwidth, offers better resistance against electromagnetic interference, and is safer as well. So, optical fiber cable became the ultimate choice for the rapidly growing telecommunication and networking industry.

The only problem with deploying underground optical fiber cable was (and even today) its high cost. This high cost of undercover optical fiber cable deployments pushed companies into overbuilding, and they started laying surplus cables. That overbuilding and deployment of excessive cables resulted in the birth of dark fiber. Terminologically speaking, dark fiber is the fiber that never got activated and never received any light to transmit.

What is Dark Fiber?

The history we have discussed thus far in this article gives us the idea of the dark fiber. Now, let us speak more clearly on this subject. In the networking industry, "Dark Fiber" denotes the underground optical fiber cables deployed as "surplus" and are still in this category. The word "Dark" in "Dark Fiber" refers to the current state of these fibers as they still have no light passing through them, and that's why we can call them "Dark." After many years, people have started turning to those "Dark Fibers" because they need more bandwidth, speed, and networking infrastructure away from the public eye and public presence. There are many applications for which we need private networks and dedicated bandwidth. So, Dark Fibers are there for us to rent. In short, "Dark Fiber" is the underground, non-lit optical fiber networking infrastructure available today in the open market. In the following exhibit you can see how promising is dark fiber markets global forecast!

Two types of Dark Fibers

"Dark Fiber," as we know, refers to those underground, unlit, and unused optical fiber cables that are fit and available to be taken into service. However, in the networking industry, we classify dark fiber into two categories;

Metro Dark Fiber: It includes the non-lit or dark fibers stretched across densely populated areas such as trade and business hubs of a city. Metro Dark Fiber can help bring optical fiber to your business's entrance.

Long-haul dark Fiber: This type of dark fiber offers connectivity across important markets utilizing Point of Presence (or PoPs). However, routes that usually span thousands of miles. 

It has been observed that companies that use a mix of metro and long-haul links benefit more from dark fiber.

Moreover, long-haul and metro dark fiber differ in various aspects, and construction is essential. Unlike long-haul dark fiber installations, Metro dark fiber links are generally deployed with high fiber cables. The use of high-fiber-count cables enables metro links to offer more bandwidth. On the other side, long-haul dark fiber links are constructed with single-mode optical fiber cables. These cables contain fiber with a smaller core size and, thus, can only accommodate the transmission of a single mode of light. Single-mode cable limits the magnitude of data we can transmit across it at any given instance. However, these cables come with almost zero limitations in terms of link distance – thus, they are great for long-distance networking.

Advantages of Dark Fibers 

However, we have had dark fibers under the soil for many years! However, many advantages and benefits are less well-known than today. The following is an exhibit comparing dark fiber with other options and late we will discuss some of the main benefits of the Dark Fibers.

Flexibility and Scalability

Dark fibers are known to come with outstanding scalability and flexibility. You can hire a complete bundle of dark fibers, a single cable, or a fiber strand according to your networking needs. A combination of DWDM and dark fiber can create wonders! DWDM technology allows the transmission of multiple data streams over a single fiber. Hence, dark fiber can bring unmatched flexibility and scalability to growing businesses.

Increased Performance

Speed and bandwidth are among the most critical concerns for businesses, primarily those entities relying on digital services. In many cases, dark fibers can outperform light fibers in speed and bandwidth. Sometimes, it remains the only viable solution for service providers who require better latency performance. We cannot enjoy complete control when doing business with commercially operating service providers. Meanwhile, we only get a few interruptions in the case of dark fibers. Moreover, it is also possible for you to acquire a dedicated dark fiber route to achieve your desired results.

Security & Redundancy

As we all know, the Internet is a collection of many smaller networks and a public space. So, when you communicate across the Internet, you can never avoid publically available routes and resources. Thus, the Internet is a dangerous place for business and financial transactions. Now, what else can we use to handle our sensitive matters online in a safer way? Some would say VPN, and some would say dark fibers. Yes! This is how it is. For some, a VPN will work fine, while for some, there cannot be something better than Dark Fibers. We agree! VPNs are a good way for those who want to maintain their privacy online. However, VPNs cannot offer maximum protection against financial scams, hacking, and cracking because VPN lines are still identifiable. On the other hand, no one can identify dark fiber-based communication lines, and that's why it is much more secure.

When to go with Dark Fibers?

Dark fibers are not for everyday users; they are not for streams and gamers. Dark fibers are for large organizations and grownup businesses and, in fact, for everyone who can afford them. Yes! Individuals showing remarkable growth potential and expanding online presence can also consider renting a dark fiber. Following are some common scenarios where one should consider switching to dark fibers.

Increasing Bandwidth Demands:

Think of going Dark if your bandwidth has surpassed the 1 Gbps milestone because, beyond this threshold, you will find it very erratic to get an upgrade from your ISP.

Exponential Growth:

Dark fiber is specifically suitable for entities witnessing exponential growth in terms of the traffic they get or the orders they deliver. Traditional ISPs offer scaling services but only allow it after hefty paperwork.

Low-Latency Networking:

Streaming and gaming are some services that come to mind when we think of latency. Well, low latency networking has become a prerequisite for many network operators, and dark fiber can answer all of their queries because you can rent a fiber for your services solely.

Conclusion

•    Dark fiber is a concept related to the overbuilt underground fiber routes deployed in the 80s and 90s that are yet un-lit.
•    Today, these never-lit optical fibers are available to be used by enterprises and other entities that need to network with the maximum possible speed and bandwidth.
•    Dark fibers can further be classified as Long-haul and Metro dark fibers.
•    Dark fibers can help networks achieve their desired results by offering them instant upgradation in bandwidth, unlike traditional ISPs, where things take hefty paperwork.