What is Dark Fibre?

Dark fiber

You often hear people say “I’d never even heard of dark fibre before.” without realizing that it’s something the may be using everyday. Dark fibre may sound like the something out of a science fiction novel, but it’s actually a very useful material that helps your business expand their communications capabilities.

Dark fiber

Dark fibre is a system of unused, surplus fibre-optic networks. Many companies have them in place for ready expansion or as backups. Some, like utility companies, invest in and lay optical fibre bundles, along with their own lines, for future lease to telecom companies. They’re called “dark fibres” because optical fibre cable systems light up when in use and stay black when unused. This surplus has been a boon to service providers.  In most of the cases the companies lay more lines than what is actually needed so as to cut off the extra cost of doing the thing all over again. In this case the fiber is neither controlled or related in any way to the phone company. The company just provides the necessary components to make it completely functional.

The term of Dark fibre officially came to use when the potential network capacity of the very telecommunication infrastructure was being referred to. Dark fiber is basically the optical fiber infrastructure which may not be used recently but is very much in its place. The Dark Fiber service is mostly provided by any loacal exchange carriers or better known as LECs. They are mostly provided for the maintenance of the capacity of the transmission of optical fiber between various customer locations in which cases the light of the fiber is all the way provided by the customer rather than the LEC. There are many benefits to using dark fiber network services, including flexibility, time savings and scalability.

Since the technology is already in place, businesses don’t need to invest in the necessary infrastructure to support optical fiber systems. This leads to a savings of up to 75 percent of the total cost, which is passed on to the consumer as a service.

The services of Dark Fiber actually puts you in the full and overall control of the network that you possess. Additionally Dark fiber also allows your business to select the transmission technology which you desire in order to deploy over the point-to-point connection.

Dark Fiber Networks allow Businesses to:


  • Use advanced technology at will, without waits for upgrades.
  • Achieve scalability.
  • Enjoy flexibility and more dependable service.
  • Shorten service times to their customers.
  • Obtain direct connections from point to point without the necessity of hubs or other hindrances.
  • Track expenses easier.
  • Enjoy nearly unlimited bandwidth at a fraction of the cost of traditional network systems.
  • Conduct business in sectors that were previously inaccessible, like rural areas or developing countries.

Since these networks are already in place and waiting to be utilized, they allow businesses to redirect and reconfigure their systems capabilities quickly and with a minimum of expense. Optical fibre networks also allow companies to access to faster and more accurate data transmission. Reliable, fast communications features increase client satisfaction and improve overall customer experience and allow enhanced employee productivity. All of these benefits help retain and attract customers while improving a company’s bottom line by reducing expenses and increasing profitability. Contact a data network service provider to find out the advantages of updating your communications abilities using dark fibre network services.