The Backbone of the AI Revolution
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing has created massive demand for faster, safer, and more scalable data movement. Behind these innovations lies an invisible yet critical foundation, dark fiber.
Although it operates quietly underground, dark fiber forms the nervous system of the modern digital world, connecting data centers, cloud regions, and enterprise campuses that power today’s intelligent economy. As organizations accelerate their adoption of AI and automation, one question becomes clear:
How essential dark fiber in the AI era?
Global Market Growth Reflects Its Strategic Value
Based on Market Analysis Report from Grand View Research, the global dark fiber network market is expanding rapidly. Valued at USD 6.25 billion in 2024, it is expected to reach USD 13.4 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of over 14.3%.
These numbers show that dark fiber is no longer a luxury, it’s a strategic enabler of digital transformation for enterprises around the world. Companies now view it as a long-term infrastructure investment that delivers performance, control, and scalability.
Why AI Workloads Depend on Dark Fiber
In the AI era, where GPU-powered workloads, deep learning models, and real-time analytics dominate, dark fiber provides the essential combination of high bandwidth, low latency, and strong security.
It allows enterprises to:
- Expand capacity as data traffic surges.
- Control their own network infrastructure instead of sharing lines.
- Ensure continuous and private data flow between environments.
Once deployed, dark fiber can be “lit” and upgraded as new optical technologies emerge, making it a future-proof solution. It supports multi-cloud connectivity, 5G backhaul, and edge computing, the pillars driving Indonesia’s digital economy forward.
Indonet’s 2024 Network Expansion: Building for the Future
In 2024, Indonet launched a major expansion of its network infrastructure across the Greater Jakarta Metro area. This initiative increased fiber capacity by more than tenfold, surpassing the total deployment of the previous decade combined.
This expansion responds to growing demand from enterprises, hyperscalers, and data center operators seeking dedicated dark fiber capacity. By dramatically increasing its network reach, Indonet ensures organizations have access to high-performance, reliable, and scalable connectivity to stay competitive in the digital era.
Through this milestone, Indonet reinforces its role in empowering Indonesia’s digital economy, paving the way for AI readiness and sustainable innovation.
Case Study: Data Center to Data Center (DC-to-DC) Interconnection
One enterprise customer required a dedicated dark fiber link between Indonet’s EDGE1 and EDGE2 data centers to support multi-site operations and real-time data replication.
Before the upgrade, the customer used a 10 Gbps lit service that often suffered from latency fluctuations and limited scalability for GPU-intensive workloads.
By deploying Indonet’s dedicated dark fiber ring:
- Latency dropped to below 1 millisecond.
- Capacity jumped to 400 Gbps.
- The customer gained full physical path control for redundancy and business continuity.
- Cost Efficiency: Delivered at a competitive price
This DC-to-DC setup also enabled live workload migration and real-time storage synchronization, eliminating data transfer bottlenecks. Within the first year, the customer achieved an improvement in operational efficiency, with dark fiber becoming the backbone of their AI data analytics pipeline.
Dark Fiber: The Foundation of a Connected Ecosystem
Indonet’s continued investment in fiber capacity and global technology partnerships positions it at the forefront of Indonesia’s connectivity evolution, from the core network to the edge.
Conclusion: A Future-Proof Investment for the AI Era
In an age defined by AI, data-driven intelligence, and hyper-connectivity, dark fiber is not just a physical asset, it’s the foundation of digital resilience and innovation.
Through its continuous expansion and customer-focused approach, Indonet leads Indonesia’s digital transformation by providing enterprises with the invisible yet indispensable infrastructure needed to thrive in the AI-powered future.
