Fiber Broadband Association Research Reveals Critical Need for Fiber in AI and Data Center Growth

New research by RVA LLC confirms 2.3x more fiber is needed in the U.S. to support AI performance, scalability, and security

The Fiber Broadband Association today published results from research performed by RVA LLC in the report titled “The Under Appreciated Need to Enable AI and Data Center Growth: Increased and More Strategic Fiber Interconnections.” The paper calls attention to the urgent and underrecognized need to expand and upgrade fiber infrastructure to support the exploding capacity demands from artificial intelligence (AI) applications on hyperscale data centers.

As AI rapidly transforms the digital landscape, the U.S. is expected to see at least a 3x increase in hyperscale data center capacity by 2029. However, that increase in capacity would require a 2x increase in fiber route miles and a 2.3x increase in total fiber miles. The FBA report outlines how fiber-optic interconnections have transitioned from a “behind the scenes” data center enabler to foundational infrastructure critical to AI performance, scalability, and security.

“The need for fast, secure, low-latency connections between hyperscale data centers has accelerated with the birth of AI. Given the laws of physics, fiber remains the superior medium of interconnection cable used between data centers and users,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President of Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association. “This research reveals the scale of the challenge and the urgent need for new investment, policy modernization, and smarter infrastructure planning to keep pace with AI innovation.”

FBA’s paper identifies three major areas of need for interconnects to bring AI to its full potential:

• New short interconnections for every new hyperscale data center, averaging 135 route miles of connectivity per site.
• Upgrades to existing long-haul fiber interconnections to increase capacity.
• Entirely new long-haul interconnection routes to meet latency and bandwidth requirements.

More findings from this report will be presented during a webinar on July 31, 2025, at 12:00pm EDT—register here. To learn more about FBA research, subscribe to FBA’s Fiber Forward Weekly newsletter here.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities, and policymakers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations, and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MEA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.

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