Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Homes and businesses on Shetland, which is a remote UK subarctic archipelago that resides north of the Scottish mainland, could see the full restoration of local broadband services by around next weekend. Connectivity was disrupted earlier this month after Storm Amy caused damage to the main SHEFA-2 (Faroese Telecom) subsea fibre optic cable (here).

The SHEFA-2 cable reaches Shetland via two landing sites, including one stretch that goes north west up to the Faroe Islands and another that runs south to connect Orkney and the Scottish Mainland. The damage, which came only a few short months after a fishing vessel struck the same cable (here and here), is understood to have occurred around 1.5km off the coast of Orkney on a “section that has previously experienced problems caused by natural forces (tides/current).”

Such breaks typically take several weeks to fully repair, which is partly due to the time it takes to arrange a cable repair ship to be dispatched, as well as uncertainty around the scale of damage, the need for surveys and weather. The last break was repaired within a couple of weeks, but this one was expected to take a little longer because the damage is in shallow water – close to shore – and requires a new landing at Ayre of Cara (Orkney).

The good news, according to Shetland Telecom, is that Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), which has been contracted to conduct the work, has now completed their surveys and confirmed the schedule for the repair. Repair ship Cable Vigilance, which s currently still docked in Calais (France), will depart late for the islands on Monday 20th October.

Preparations involving local (Orkney) workboats are then planned for Tuesday 21st, with Cable Vigilance due to arrive in Orkney on Thursday 23rd to begin cable recovery and jointing operations. The new shore-end section is planned to be landed on Saturday 25th, with full restoration anticipated later the same day. So, some good news for customers of Sky Broadband, Vodafone, TalkTalk and a few other network providers.

The catch is that this timetable remains subject to weather conditions, and any bad weather could still delay the effort.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Backed by major lenders, EXA Infrastructure has raised new facilities to support network expansion and M&A ambitions

EXA Infrastructure, the largest dedicated digital infrastructure platform connecting Europe and North America, has refinanced its existing facilities and raised new financing in total over €1.3bn to support continued growth ambitions and network expansion plans.

The new facility, structured over seven years, will allow EXA Infrastructure to capitalise on significant market opportunities and expand its network footprint in line with scaling customer ambitions.

Jim Fagan, CEO, EXA Infrastructure, said: “This move gives us an unrivalled ability to continue investing in our network, at a time when our customers need growing amounts of capacity across more routes, to handle an evolving set of applications and demands. Our recent investments have already shown our strategic focus, and with this refinancing, EXA Infrastructure is firmly positioned to lead in network and digital infrastructure throughout Europe and across the Atlantic.”

EXA Infrastructure announced the signing of binding agreements to acquire Aqua Comms in January, followed by strategic network deployment announcements throughout 2025, including the largest fibre backbone deployment in Central Europe and the first new subsea cable in the North Sea in 25 years.

Lenders for this refinancing process include MUFG Bank Ltd., DNB, Banco Santander, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, Lloyds Bank, NORD/LB, Goldman Sachs International Bank, NatWest, Kookmin Bank London Branch, Woori Bank London Branch, NIBC Bank, funds managed by Allianz Global Investors, and funds managed by Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management.

Rothschild & Co is acting as debt advisors to EXA Infrastructure in connection with the refinancing, and Latham and Watkins LLP is acting as the company’s legal advisor. Simpson Thacher and Bartlett LLP is acting as the legal advisor to the lenders in connection with the transaction.

“We’re proud to have the support of such high-calibre lenders and institutions who understand not only our business   but also the wider digital infrastructure landscape,” said Kate Hennessy, CFO at EXA Infrastructure. “Such strong demand for the facility underscores market confidence in our strategy and reaffirms our desire to pursue our next stage of growth with conviction.”

Keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from around the world with the Total Telecom newsletter

Also in the news
Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Viewpoint Article

Enterprises today are pushing for simplicity, no multiple portals, fragmented services or complex user experiences. What they want is mobility that works as seamlessly as the cloud: unified, scalable, and fully integrated into their IT environment.

Yet too often, telecom operators are still perceived as “just connectivity providers.” Unless this perception changes, others will fill the role enterprises truly need — the role of the tech orchestrator.

The Gap to Close

Recent GSMA Intelligence research shows that enterprises will spend 10% of their revenues on digital transformation during 2025-2030. The appetite is enormous, but the challenges are equally large: the cost of implementation and the difficulty of integrating new technologies with legacy systems.

Enterprises are asking for something far beyond “connectivity plus”: they want simplicity, orchestration, and outcomes.

Telecom Operators are in the best position to integrate mobile connectivity directly into enterprise IT ecosystems. Unlike third-party intermediaries, operators manage both the network and the service orchestration layers, ensuring a direct, secure, and cost-efficient connection between the customer’s IT systems and their mobile environment. This end-to-end integration eliminates costly middleware and manual processes, while providing real-time visibility, automated order management, and simplified governance.

The opportunity (and challenge) ahead

But the shift from telco to techno is not a marketing exercise — it represents a fundamental transformation in how operators deliver value. The focus must move from selling connectivity to enabling measurable business outcomes.

• Employee productivity. Mobility is now about empowering every worker — from the office to the field — to be securely connected and efficient.
• Transparency and cost control. Enterprises want a clear, centralised view of their mobility spend and usage.
• AI readiness. Without orchestrated, standardised data, enterprises cannot leverage AI for predictive provisioning or real-time optimisation.

Across the industry, enterprise leaders consistently share the same message: make it easier, faster, and smarter. That is the opportunity operators must seize.

Collaboration as the Differentiator

No single operator can meet these expectations alone. Multinational enterprises demand scale, consistency, and trust across borders — and achieving this requires collaboration.

This is where alliances like FreeMove play a pivotal role. By working together, operators can provide:

• Consistency: a unified, orchestrated experience across multiple countries.
• Speed: faster time to market through shared expertise and resources.
• Customer-centric outcomes: harmonised solutions tailored to each enterprise’s digital maturity.

At the recent Mobile World Live Unwrapped series, experts from the FreeMove Alliance — including Usman Javaid (Orange Business), Urs Lehner (Swisscom), and Stefan Grosse Onnebrink (Deutsche Telekom) — discussed this transformation in depth. Their shared conclusion was clear: collaboration is not a “nice-to-have”; it is the only way to deliver enterprise mobility at scale.

The FreeMove Automation Solution exemplifies this approach. Whether a customer is just beginning their digital journey or ready for full ITSM integration, the solution adapts to their needs. It reduces tools, lowers manual workload, improves transparency, and lays the foundation for an AI-driven future.

The road ahead

The choice for telcos is stark.
They can remain commodity providers of connectivity — or evolve into techno-orchestrators that simplify complexity, co-create with customers, and deliver tangible outcomes.

The future of enterprise mobility will not be defined by who owns the network, but by who can orchestrate ecosystems that deliver simplicity, trust, and measurable value.

Through initiatives like the FreeMove Automation Solution (FAS), operators enable seamless API-based integration into ITSM and procurement systems (including ServiceNow and Punch-Out interfaces), allowing enterprises to manage their global mobile fleet as part of their broader digital infrastructure.

In a context where enterprises will dedicate nearly 10% of revenues to digital transformation by 2030, operators stand out as trusted partners who can bridge the gap between connectivity and IT transformation—simplifying integration, enhancing security, and reducing total cost of ownership across multinational operations

The transformation from telco to techno is already underway, and collaboration will define its success.

To explore these ideas further, watch the full Mobile World Live Unwrapped session featuring Usman Javaid (Orange Business), Urs Lehner (Swisscom), Stefan Grosse Onnebrink (Deutsche Telekom), and Selma Avdagic Tisljar (FreeMove Alliance): https://www.mobileworldlive.com/mwl-unwrapped-webinar-beyond-borders-connecting-enterprises-globally-with-automation-collaboration/

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Interview

Netceed offers customers supply chain resilience in a complex world. Here’s how they do it, according to their director of telecom sales

Enhancing supply chain resilience has become a key part of Netceed’s operations, which advertises offering a full range of services to support networks from end to end, including supply chain solutions.

Speaking recently at Connected Britian, Steve Doddington, the director of telecom sales for Netceed, says Netceed has made a strategic choice not to have a single reliance on one vendor across the geographies where they operate.

“We have, across those geographies, multiple vendors and multiple warehouse locations,” Doddington said. “Through those multiple vendors that we have, we’re able to source products and derisk the supply chain.”

As a result, Doddington said Netceed can offer their customers supply chain resilience in a complex world.

Doddington also said Netceed can leverage the stock that they have across multiple locations, all while localizing inventory to support their customers, including in the UK.

Managing the supply chain effectively through forecasting and inventory management is also a strong suit of Netceed’s, according to Doddington.

All the while, Doddington said Netceed is also positioning themselves for the future my examining how the company can be more proactive with services offered, via intelligent data.

“We’re working on it,” he said. “We’re looking across all our Netceed entities at our IT capability and we’re trying to come up with a platform of data analytics that will actually allow us to do that proactive work.”

At the end of the day, Doddington said Netceed’s goal is to remove the operational burden from their customers.

“Let them concentrate on what they do best, and what they do best is they install networks, they hook up customers,” he said. “Why would you want to invest in your own logistics infrastructure when a company like ourselves has that infrastructure, that experience, that capability in house.”

Check out our full interview below!

Keep up to date with all of the latest telecoms news from around the world with the Total Telecom newsletter

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Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
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Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

The NDIA is suing to reinstate the Digital Equity Act Competitive Grant Program, which they allege was unconstitutionally cancelled

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

A national non-profit is now fighting back months after President Donald Trump labeled the Digital Equity Act “racist” and ended funding associated with the act.

Represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) announced last week they’re now suing the federal government to restore the Digital Equity Act Competitive Grant Program.

The NDIA says they were impacted severely by Trump’s announcement, which they also allege violated the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.

“No more woke handouts based on race,” the president previously posted about the Digital Equity Act, which was passed into law as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. “The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR GIVEAWAY.”

Trump decision stopped ‘shovel ready’ projects

With their lawsuit, the NDIA seeks to resume grant-funded projects they say are “shovel ready,” which would provide digital navigator services to 30,000 people across 11 states.

“The Administration is cutting a program that improves the lives of millions of Americans and provides much-needed support, which continues to harm the most vulnerable among us,” said Gillian Cassell-Stiga, senior counsel of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The goal of the Digital Equity Act is to ensure that everyone has access to essential resources, whether it be access to employment, healthcare, or education.”

The suit, filed with the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., directly challenges Trump’s assertion that the Digital Equity Act was unconstitutional.

Furthermore, the suit alleges the Department of Commerce did not have the authority to cancel Digital Equity Act grants, one of which was awarded to the NDIA in March.

According to the NDIA, the grant awarded to the organization was designed to support the NDIA’s planned Digital Navigator+ (DN+) Program.

The DN+ program, had it been funded, would have assisted digital navigator efforts in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington, NDIA’s announcement stated.

‘Let’s be very clear’

Angela Siefer, the NDIA’s executive director, called the organization’s decision to sue the federal government an “extraordinary step.”

She said the thousands were counting on the DN+ program to help them submit job applications, access telehealth, attend classes, and stay safe online.

“Thousands more across the country stood to benefit from Digital Equity Act grants through other trusted community organizations,” Siefer said. “Let’s be very clear, the Digital Equity Act is not unconstitutional nor racist, it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support to ensure the United States can compete in today’s modern economy.”

The DN+ program was one of 65 different projects recommended for Digital Equity Act Competitive Grant Program awards, according to the NDIA.

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Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Network operator Openreach (BT), which has recently taken some flak for its broadband discounts (here), have launched another somewhat curious new promotion for ISPs that cuts the rental charge on all New to Network (NTN) full fibre (FTTP) lines to £0 for the first 12 months when the customer originates from a Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service.

Firstly, it is important to caveat that New to Network (NTN) means a property (house, flat etc.) where there have been no Openreach products or services on the relevant line at any point in the last 90 consecutive days prior to the date of the Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) order (excluding any premises on ‘New Sites’, like new build homes etc.).

The goal of this promotion is thus much more niche than the prior debate over their proactive migrations offer, which caused plenty of fuss. But this promotion seems to be targeted at ISPs, such as those with a pre-existing fixed wireless broadband base, which may want a more attractive route for encouraging those existing customers to take-up FTTP instead via Openreach’s network (once deployed).

The offer will only be open to take between 17th November 2025 and 31st March 2026.

Openreach Briefing

Openreach is introducing a special offer where the rental charge will effectively be £0 (after rebate) for the first 12 months on all FTTP New to Network (NTN) that originate from Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). The special offer will be applicable to orders:

1. Placed and completed within the Special Offer Window (17 November 2025 to 31 March 2026 inclusive); and
2. Where the line has both originated from FWA and is NTN.

To participate in the offer, each Communication Provider must submit a list of NAD keys representing their active FWA customer base prior to the start of the offer period, which will be kept confidential. For any NTN FTTP order placed and completed during the offer window at a NAD on that list, the Communication Provider who placed the completed order will benefit from the Special Offer Price. Once live, the FTTP rental will be charged at standard rates and rebated quarterly in arrears, resulting in a net zero rental cost for the first year.

Just to give this some wider context. A number of alternative networks with both their own-built FTTP and FWA bases are also now known to be harnessing Openreach’s network to expand their off-net reach (example). The new offer might thus help to bring some of their FWA base over to FTTP.

The catch is in regard to whether or not this is going to be more of an incentive for the ISP or one that retail providers actually pass on to their customers as a discount too. In any case, FWA only accounts for a very small portion of the UK’s broadband base, so it’s not going to move the dial much.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today proposed changes under their 5-yearly Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR) to how they set charge controls and regulate the pricing of certain Openreach based fibre broadband (FTTC/P) products, such as the regulated 80Mbps (currently 40Mbps) wholesale tier and connection fees for FTTP lines.

The proposals are designed to reflect Ofcom’s effort to continue setting regulation that promotes investment and competition (including maintaining a stable regulatory environment for those investments already made), while also providing protection to consumers in certain parts of the UK as competition develops.

As part of the above, Ofcom proposed in March 2025 to continue to set flat, inflation-adjusted prices for a “basic superfast broadband” product (80Mbps download and 20Mbps upload), whilst allowing flexibility on pricing for other speed services. This meant the wholesale price of the 80Mbps tier to ISPs couldn’t rise by more than inflation each year.

The measure is due to be applied to both semi-competitive areas (Area 2 – c.90% of the UK) and non-competitive areas (Area 3 – the final 10%), which is roughly the same approach as already exists for Openreach’s older and slower 40Mbps (10Mbps upload) tier on FTTP (full fibre) and FTTC (part fibre) lines.

However, the regulator has today launched a “narrow consultation“, which specifically focuses on an alternative approach to setting charge controls for the 80Mbps product. “Openreach has suggested that, rather than Ofcom imposing charge control regulations on its 80/20 product, they instead amend their contracts with customers to achieve the same outcome,” said Ofcom, which views the proposal as being “likely to achieve similar outcomes to the charge control and therefore could be a more proportionate way of meeting our objectives.”

Separately, Ofcom are also consulting on proposals to provide greater certainty and stability by allowing Openreach to continue charging Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) connection fees in line with the current Equinox discounts. “Specifically, we are proposing a carve out to the rules on geographic pricing, which would allow Openreach to maintain different connection charges in postcode sectors that move between regulatory areas from April 2026 — under certain clearly defined circumstances“.

Ofcom Statement

• Contract Focused Approach – we are consulting on whether to rely on Openreach’s long term supply agreements, rather than charge controls, to provide effective price protection for the anchor product where they provide sufficient certainty.

We consider that this approach could meet our objectives but invite stakeholder views on this. As part of this consultation, we have published a letter from Openreach setting out proposed contractual waivers, amendments and price list notifications that would give effect to this approach.

• FTTP 80/20 connections (where copper-based services are not available) – if we decide not to adopt a Contract Focused Approach, we would revert to considering the charge control approach proposed in our March 2025 Consultation. We therefore also propose some changes to this approach in relation to the control on FTTP connection charges.

Specifically, were we to adopt a charge control approach, we propose to adopt separate single service controls for each FTTP 80/20 connection service type and incorporate a £20 uplift into the first year of the control for those products where such an uplift is allowed under Openreach’s existing contracts.

• Geographic discrimination prohibition – Under Openreach’s Equinox Offers, FTTP connection fees differ between Area 2 and Area 3 (as defined in the WFTMR21). If the market boundaries in our TAR 2026 Statement change from those in the WFTMR21, then from 1 April 2026, these connection fees would vary within the newly defined WLA Area 2. This would in principle be subject to the proposed geographic discrimination prohibition.

To reduce the risks of market disruption and regulatory uncertainty, we propose a specific carve-out from the geographic discrimination prohibition. The carve-out would permit geographic differences in connection charges, where such differences reflect the terms of the Equinox Offers and also align with WFTMR21 geographic market boundaries. This proposal would apply under both a Contract Focused Approach and a charge control approach.

The move for Openreach’s 80Mbps tier could be seen as a way of softening the regulation on the incumbent (something that will happen as market competition grows), while still achieving broadly the same end result for consumers. Openreach would also have “no ability to unilaterally change” the conditions during Ofcom’s 5-year market review period, until 2031.

At present, the regulator has not made a final decision on what approach they will take, but the outcome is expected to be revealed alongside their final TAR statement in March 2026.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Apparently, Shetland wasn’t the only remote UK island to suffer broadband and phone disruption (here) due to a broken subsea fibre cable after Storm Amy struck Scotland earlier this month. Homes and businesses on the tiny Inner Hebrides island of Tiree are suffering from a similar problem, but have been left with much more uncertainty over its resolution.

Just to recap. Tiree is a low-lying island that is home to a population of around 700. The island’s subsea fibre cable, which runs between the village of Scarinish on Tiree and Calgary on Mull (pictured – see red arrow), was first deployed all the way back in 2014 as part of the Digital Scotland contract with BT (i.e. the BT Highlands and Islands Submarine Cable System).

According to the BBC News, Tiree’s subsea fibre was also damaged during Storm Amy, which has forced local connectivity to rely on a slow and capacity strained temporary Starlink-based satellite broadband link for backhaul, which has been provided by BT (this supports a community-owned network, run by Tiree Broadband).

However, islanders claim they have been given no assurances about who will underwrite the cost of the satellite data connectivity (the community ISP may need to pay £10k a month to keep the island online), and repairs to the fibre are not currently expected to take place until December. As with the situation in Shetland, the damaged subsea cable rests in shallow water about 600 metres offshore, which will require both a barge and a period of calm weather for the repairs to take place.

Rhoda Meek, Tiree Community Development Trust, said:

“At one point during Storm Amy there was no means of communicating with emergency services beyond making a call through an analogue phone line. Some of the phone companies have been completely missing since it happened, their masts are completely out. EE and BT have 4G up but the signal is very erratic – you’ve got people out in gardens trying to get hot spots for connections.

We’re asking people not to stream anything and not to have video calls, because we can’t risk data access getting worse. It shouldn’t be the community that this is having to pay this data. It’s a lot of money for a community trust to find.”

A BT spokesperson said:

“BT’s Emergency Response Team has worked across the community to keep Tiree connected following network infrastructure damage caused by Storm Amy. We’ve deployed temporary solutions that have allowed BT to maintain essential connectivity services for existing customers.

This includes Tiree Broadband, and we’re continuing to discuss options to keep connectivity in place for them until full service is restored.”

The Scottish Government have indicated that they’re “liaising closely” with BT, Openreach and other key partners to ensure the subsea fibre connection to Tiree is “restored as soon as possible“. The issue has naturally raised a few concerns about the dependence of the island on a single subsea fibre link, but then such is the challenge with small and extremely remote island communities.

However, it’s worth noting that locals could order their own direct Starlink broadband connections, which would circumvent the capacity problems from sharing a single enterprise grade terminal via the local community network. Starlink’s roaming option would probably suit this quite well, since it doesn’t attach a long contract term and can be re-activated when needed (they also have a ‘Standby Mode’ for a small monthly fee for emergency messaging and basic tasks etc.).

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Customers of fixed broadband provider Virgin Media (O2) have today been informed that the ISP is “starting to upgrade” those with their older Hub 3 (TG2492S/CE) and Hub 4 (TG3492LG-VMB) Wi-Fi routers to its newer, more advanced Hub 5 device “at no extra cost“.

The Hub 5 (Sagemcom F3896LG-VMB) has actually been around since late 2021 (here), when it became Virgin Media’s first router to support 2Gbps+ gigabit-capable broadband speeds via their DOCSIS 3.1 (Hybrid Fibre Coax) network (the Hub 4 could also do DOCSIS 3.1, but it was more of a 1Gbps device). A slightly more advanced Hub 5x variant also exists for those covered by and connected to Virgin Media and nexfibre’s new XGS-PON based full fibre (FTTP) network.

The upgrade aims to boost customers’ broadband performance around the home, making it smoother and more reliable, with the roll-out benefitting thousands of customers before the end of 2025, before being “expanded further in 2026“. The move will no doubt also help to ensure that Virgin Media keeps their hardware current for the new network security requirements, while also ensuring efficient use of spectrum on their DOCSIS 3.1 network.

Gareth Lister, Director of Connectivity at VMO2, said:

“Providing our customers with the very best broadband experience sits at the heart of Virgin Media O2. As our technology and products evolve, we’re committed to making it easier than ever for our customers to enjoy them. Not only will this upgrade benefit thousands of customers’ connectivity by enhancing their coverage, it will also future-proof their broadband services for new innovations to come.”

The move is not unexpected as Virgin Media, much like other broadband ISPs, have long rotated their hardware over time to ensure that all customers can access more modern kit. In addition, we’re expecting Virgin Media to come out with a Wi-Fi 7 capable Hub 6 router in the future (the Hub 5 is a Wi-Fi 6 device), which currently seems likely to surface in 2026.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Paris, France, October 15, 2025 – During the NetworkX 2025 Next-Generation Optical Networking (NGON) Forum, Huawei introduced its groundbreaking Intelligent OTN solution, positioning it as the cornerstone for future-proof optical transport infrastructure. Gavin Gu, President of Optical Transport Network Domain of Huawei, detailed how this innovation addresses the escalating demands of AI-driven digital transformation in his keynote “Intelligent OTN, Intelligent Foundation.”  

AI fuels rapid transformation of the Optical Transport Industry 

The rapid construction of global AI data centers is injecting unprecedented momentum into the optical transport industry. The technology iteration cycle has accelerated from the past “10 years per generation” to the current “2-3 years per generation.” This shift drives a steeper decline in the cost-per-bit for network construction. Furthermore, the new collaborative model of real-time “Device-Pipe-Edge-Cloud” interaction in the intelligent era is shifting networks from “one-way” to “interactive,” and from “best effort” to “deterministic.” 

Mission-critical AI workloads demand unprecedented network performance. Data Center Interconnection (DCI) requires “six nines” (99.9999%) reliability and terabit-level capacity, while Data Center Access (DCA) needs millisecond-level latency with flexible bandwidth allocation for diverse applications from industrial AI to immersive experiences. 

Intelligent OTN Solution enhances network capabilities  

To better support DCI and DCA scenarios, Huawei launched the Intelligent OTN solution, focusing on two core directions – “OTN for AI” and “AI for OTN” – with multiple key capabilities. 

In the “OTN for AI” direction, addressing efficient DCI connectivity needs, the backbone network should upgrade with three key technical capabilities: The wavelength advancing towards 800G and even 3.2T in the future, significantly reducing the cost-per-bit for network construction; network architecture upgrades from C-band ROADM to C+L-band OXC, doubling switching capacity; and achieving zero packet loss transmission between computing nodes via the DC-OTN solution. For the user-side DCA scenario, four key capability upgrades enable the construction of an ultra-low latency metro network: Realizing “1ms to the data center” via mini-OXC devices; 100G to the edge, providing sufficient bandwidth for applications; the fgOTN solution supports fine-grained, hitless bandwidth adjustment starting from 10Mbps; and the enhanced WSON solution reduces service restoration time to within 50 milliseconds, significantly improving network reliability. 

In the “AI for OTN” direction, Gavin Gu noted that OTN networks were traditionally often called “dumb pipes.” However, Intelligent OTN introduces new technologies like digital twins and AI technologies to enable upgrades throughout the entire optical network lifecycle. By building a three-dimensional digital twin model encompassing services, network, and optical fibers, the network becomes visible, manageable, and optimizable. In the planning and construction phase, service provisioning time is reduced from months to days. In the operations and optimization phase, the system can proactively identify network risks, substantially reducing potential network failures. Intelligent OTN drives the evolution of optical networks from traditional “dumb pipes” to “intelligent pipes” with self-awareness, self-decision-making, and self-optimization capabilities, advancing towards high-level autonomous networks. 

“As the intelligent era fully arrives, driven by both ‘OTN for AI’ and ‘AI for OTN,’ Huawei’s Intelligent OTN solution will provide powerful transport support for global digital development,” said Gavin Gu. “It is both the transmission artery for the intelligent era and an evolving intelligent entity, solidifying the foundation for the future of the intelligent era.