As bandwidth needs at the macro level increase, networks will need to be capable of speeds beyond 100G. So long as Internet usage continues to grow at its current rate, service providers must remain one step ahead of the end user, so 100G for the end user necessitates 400G services on the provider network and so on. End users currently asking for 100G service are already becoming increasingly common, and providers must be prepared to have more than 100G of capacity in their network backbone to deliver robust connectivity if they are to remain competitive.

There can be no doubt that ISPs and backbone providers are scaling up for this surge in speed and capacity demand. One interim solution that data centers employ to attract customers is the connectivity partnership. This mutually beneficial relationship enables partners to balance workloads and manage bursts on the backend while providing seamless network delivery to customers on the front.

The benefits of partnerships

The first step is for carriers and wireless providers to support 10G, then aggregate with a partner to move to 100G and 400G. Note that while very few carriers are deploying 100G customer circuits, some smaller data centers are doing so. Smaller data centers are more flexible and can more easily grow and accommodate as customers grow, managing their network within a smaller user base inside their facility. When searching for a suitable data center, it is imperative to understand the technology, scalability and flexibility of the transport providers serving that data center. 

In a collective network scenario, users would concentrate their IT resources in data centers. When that happens, it’s generally for extensive bandwidth requirements. Some customers are using this capacity to reach their company data center operation across its network. Data that is remotely stored must be secure but also easily retrievable, whether for day-to-day usage or in the event of disaster recovery. A high-bandwidth connection ensures reliable data access between data center and user.

Moving into the modern age, many industries are becoming increasingly technology-reliant. For example, the financial sector is increasingly moving away from the tangible reality of physical currency to the digital realm of online bill pay, e-commerce and electronic recordkeeping. Digital transaction and digital transaction management (DTM) are moving closer to the mainstream. By removing the friction of physical efforts (for instance, sending documents via the postal service), organizations are making significant cuts in their operating expenses and redirecting financial resources to virtual processes that are faster, easier and more secure.

Security and the protection of financial transactions is increasingly reliant on a state-of-the-art network for support. In addition, as government agencies move to provide more services via the Internet and better data exchange for emergency responders, their data needs will continue to grow. As the healthcare industry’s needs for high-resolution imaging and telemedicine applications for diagnostics and treatment continues to improve, network providers will need to grow their ability to deliver high-capacity bandwidth networks to potentially help save lives.  Additional big drivers of large bandwidth (100G now and 400G very soon) are online movie subscription services like Hulu, Amazon and Netflix.

In the realm of advanced technology, AI applications will require lower network latency. High-performance voice and video technologies will follow this trend. The introduction of quantum computers will move bandwidth budgets into the terabit range. All of these budding technology enrichments will need this necessary step for 400G service development.

The 400G paradigm may seem like an exclusive, cutting-edge development, yet it will provide a very practical, day-to-day benefit to many different ordinary users. Dynamic workload flexibility, faster virtualization, the dependence on in-home wireless devices, mainstreaming of hyperscalers and development in the speeds of Ethernet will all become possible through a 400G service. When considering where society is going technologically over the next ten years, business leaders can understand the importance of the evolution from 100G services to 400G services and beyond.

Interested in 400G? Make a plan.

The move to a more resilient, scalable 400G service solution is still in its earliest stages. The good news is that technology manufacturers are getting ready to roll out 10TB routers with 100G interfaces and other needed equipment to handle the build-out. Some providers are offering these higher speeds in rural markets so that they can get the bandwidth they require for their customers, as well as concentrating IT resources in private data centers and connecting them across their respective geographical regions. 

If you see the demand for your data exponentially growing, look at 2019 as the time to future-proof your bandwidth needs.