In this week’s episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Ahmed Ali, Senior Analyst and Lead of CRU’s Optical Fibre and Cable Service, joins Gary Bolton, President & CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association, to discuss how AI, cloud and data centre growth are reshaping the requirements placed on optical networks. While conventional single-mode fibre will remain the foundation of global connectivity, some high-performance applications are beginning to push practical limits around latency, capacity density, signal integrity and physical infrastructure.

The conversation will examine where hollow-core fibre (HCF) and multicore fibre (MCF) fit within this evolving market, including their potential role in data centre interconnect, high-density data centre environments and other specialist network applications. The discussion will also explore demand trends, early trials and commercial signals, barriers to adoption, and the latest market outlook covering supply-chain implications, manufacturing scalability, standards development and strategic considerations for fibre buyers and producers.