What is dark fiber?
Dark fiber is a phrase used to describe unused network fiber-optic cable that was installed when an original fiber network was built. In normal fiber cables, light pulses are used to transmit data and information—and dark fiber gets its name from the fact that there are no current light sources being transmitted through it, leaving it available for network expansion or private use. Today, there are thousands of miles of dark fiber spread across the US.
More recently, dark fiber is also used to describe the procedure of leasing available fiber optic cables from a network or service provider, and, in some cases, fiber infrastructure that isn’t owned by regular carriers.
The advantages of using dark fiber
In most cases, dark fiber networks are completely separate from a provider’s main network. They have high capacity bandwidth available and enable excellent signal strength. They’re also typically controlled by the client, rather than the network provider. These are all factors that can make them extremely valuable to businesses.
While dark fiber can be affordably bought and used by individuals, businesses and other organizations are more likely to get the most out of dark fiber bandwidth. Since a dark fiber network guarantees that businesses will have almost complete control over their network infrastructure and what’s transmitted, it can also provide an additional layer of security for sensitive data. Some of the type of businesses and organizations that benefit most from the use of dark fiber are government institutions, schools, e-commerce, and retail companies due to their requirements for fast and secure internet capabilities that have the ability to the transmit extremely large files of sensitive data.
Want to know more about dark fiber and whether it’s right for you? We’re here and we’d be happy to help you with any dark fiber needs you have!
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