Abstract
Summary
The dark fiber market is projected to grow from USD 6.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 11.9 billion by 2028; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% from 2023 to 2028. Rising demand for 5G network, increasing demand for internet bandwidth, growing demand for reliable and secure network is expected to fuel the growth of the dark fiber market. However, High initial investment and regular maintenance is limiting the growth of the dark fiber market.
“BFSI end user segment of the dark fiber market to hold second largest market share during the forecast period.”
The private dark fiber network provides the control and security required for data center connectivity by financial institutions. Dark fibers are used to improve and make business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) reliable and painless. Dark fiber offers scalability to meet the growing bandwidth demands of BFSI institutions. As data requirements increase, dark fiber can support higher data rates without the need for significant infrastructure upgrades. This scalability allows BFSI organizations to adapt to evolving technology trends, increasing data volumes, and emerging applications without disruption or major investments in new network infrastructure. Dark fiber can play a crucial role in a BFSI organization’s disaster recovery and business continuity strategy. By establishing redundant connections through dark fiber, institutions can create geographically diverse and independent network paths. In the event of a network failure or a disaster in one location, traffic can be seamlessly rerouted to alternative paths, ensuring uninterrupted services and minimizing downtime. Banks and financial services companies are increasingly turning to dark fiber for their bandwidth-intensive core transport, including file sharing, large file transfers, business intelligence applications and data analysis.
“Long haul network segment to witness higher growth for dark fiber market during the forecast period.” The deployment of long-haul networks has been increasing to meet the growing demand for high-speed and reliable connectivity across different regions. The proliferation of digital services, cloud computing, streaming media, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to an exponential increase in data traffic. Long-haul networks are essential for transporting this massive volume of data over long distances efficiently. The growth of IXPs has led to increased demand for long-haul networks. IXPs serve as major interconnection hubs, where multiple networks exchange traffic. To facilitate efficient exchange of data between networks located in different regions, robust long-haul networks are required. The deployment of 5G networks requires a robust backhaul infrastructure to support the increased data rates and low latency. Long-haul networks, especially fiber-optic networks, play a crucial role in providing high-capacity backhaul connections for 5G base stations. To keep up with the increasing demand, telecommunication companies, infrastructure providers, and governments are continuing to invest in expanding and upgrading long-haul networks, deploying new submarine cables, expanding fiber-optic networks, and exploring innovative technologies to enhance long-distance connectivity.
“Market for plastic material is expected to exhibit higher growth during the forecast period ” The plastic material segment is expected to exhibit a higher growth during the forecast period. Plastic fibers are used for very short-range and consumer applications, whereas glass fibers are used for short/medium-range and long-range telecommunications. Plastic fibers are immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI). Unlike glass fibers, they do not conduct electricity, making them more resistant to external interference sources. This characteristic makes plastic fibers suitable for environments with high levels of electromagnetic noise or where grounding and shielding requirements are challenging. The primary advantage of plastic fiber over glass fiber is its robustness under bending and stretching.
“Europe to hold a significant share of the dark fiber market during the forecast period” Europe is expected to hold a significantly large share for dark fiber market during the forecast period. Europe held the second-largest share of the global dark fiber market in 2022. The rapid growth of the ISPs and Telecommunications Industry is one of the major factors driving the market in this region. The new digital applications such as teleworking, remote medical consultation, and video on demand has accelerated the demand for dark fibers.
In the process of determining and verifying the market size for several segments and subsegments gathered through secondary research, extensive primary interviews have been conducted with key industry experts in the dark fiber market space. The break-up of primary participants for the report has been shown below: By Company Type: Tier 1 – 40%, Tier 2 – 40%, and Tier 3 – 20% By Designation: C-level Executives – 40%, Directors –40%, and Others – 20% By Region: North America –30%, Asia Pacific– 40%, Europe – 20%, and RoW – 10%
The report profiles key players in dark fiber market with their respective market ranking analysis. Prominent players profiled in this report include AT&T (US), Verizon Communications, Inc. (US), CenturyLink (Lumen Technologies) (US) Colt Technology Services Group Limited (UK), Comcast Corporation (US), Consolidated Communications (US), Exa Infrastructure (GTT Communications, Inc.) (US), CenturyLink, Inc. (US), NTT Communications Corporation (Japan), Verizon Communications, Inc. (US), Windstream Communications (US), and Zayo Group, LLC (US). GlobalConnect Group (Denmark), Dark Fibre Africa (Pty) Ltd (South Africa), Frontier Communications Corporation (US), Cologix (US), Crown Castle (US), Dinesh Engineers Limited (India), FirstLight (US), UFINET (Spain), Dobson Technologies (US), Sterlite Power (India), Sorrento Networks (US), Microscan (India) are among a few emerging companies in the dark fiber market.
Research Coverage: This research report categorizes the dark fiber market on the basis of type, network type, material, end user, and region. The report describes the major drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities pertaining to the dark fiber market and forecasts the same till 2028. Apart from these, the report also consists of leadership mapping and analysis of all the companies included in the dark fiber market ecosystem.
Key Benefits of Buying the Report The report will help the market leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall dark fiber market and the subsegments. This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to position their businesses better and to plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.
The report provides insights on the following pointers:
• Analysis of key drivers (Rising demand for 5G network, Increasing government regulatory Increasing demand for internet bandwidth, Growing demand for reliable and secure network ), restraints (Risky installation, High initial investment and regular maintenance), opportunities (Telecommunication industry to create lucrative opportunities, Need for heavy data handling in manufacturing and logistics sectors, Augmented global demand for data centers) and challenges (Lack of proper monitoring systems) influencing the growth of the dark fiber market.
• Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product & service launches in the dark fiber market .
• Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets – the report analyses the dark fiber market across varied regions
• Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products & services, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the dark fiber market
• Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies and service offerings of leading players like AT&T (US), Verizon Communications, Inc. (US), CenturyLink (Lumen Technologies) (US), Consolidated Communications (US), EXA Infrastructure (GTT Communications, Inc.) (US), among others in the dark fiber market.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION 26
1.1 STUDY OBJECTIVES 26
1.2 MARKET DEFINITION 26
1.3 MARKET SCOPE 27
1.3.1 MARKETS COVERED 27
1.3.2 INCLUSIONS AND EXCLUSIONS 27
1.3.3 REGIONAL SCOPE 28
1.3.4 YEARS CONSIDERED 28
1.4 CURRENCY CONSIDERED 29
1.5 STAKEHOLDERS 29
1.6 RECESSION IMPACT ANALYSIS 29
2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 31
2.1 RESEARCH DATA 31
2.1.1 SECONDARY DATA 32
- 2.1.1.1 List of key secondary sources 32
- 2.1.1.2 Key data from secondary sources 33
2.1.2 PRIMARY DATA 33
- 2.1.2.1 Interviews with experts 33
- 2.1.2.2 Breakdown of primary interviews 34
2.1.3 SECONDARY AND PRIMARY RESEARCH 34
- 2.1.3.1 Key industry insights 35
2.2 MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION 35
2.2.1 BOTTOM-UP APPROACH 36
- 2.2.1.1 Approach for capturing market size by bottom-up analysis (demand side) 36
2.2.2 TOP-DOWN APPROACH 37
- 2.2.2.1 Approach for capturing market share using top-down analysis (supply side) 37
2.3 MARKET BREAKDOWN AND DATA TRIANGULATION 38
2.4 RESEARCH ASSUMPTIONS 39
2.5 RISK ASSESSMENT 39
2.5.1 RECESSION IMPACT ANALYSIS 40
2.6 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS 40
3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 41
3.1 GROWTH RATE ASSUMPTIONS/GROWTH FORECAST 41
4 PREMIUM INSIGHTS 46
4.1 ATTRACTIVE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYERS IN DARK FIBER MARKET 46
4.2 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY TYPE 46
4.3 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY NETWORK TYPE 47
4.4 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY MATERIAL 47
4.5 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY REGION 48
4.6 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY END USER AND REGION, 2022 48
4.7 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY COUNTRY 49
5 MARKET OVERVIEW 50
5.1 INTRODUCTION 50
5.2 MARKET DYNAMICS 50
5.2.1 DRIVERS 51
- 5.2.1.1 Rising demand for 5G network 51
- 5.2.1.2 Increasing demand for internet bandwidth 51
- 5.2.1.3 Growing demand for reliable and secure network 51
5.2.2 RESTRAINTS 52
- 5.2.2.1 Risky installation 52
- 5.2.2.2 High initial investment and regular maintenance 52
5.2.3 OPPORTUNITIES 53
- 5.2.3.1 Telecommunications industry to create lucrative opportunities 53
- 5.2.3.2 Need for heavy data handling in manufacturing and logistics 53
- 5.2.3.3 Increasing demand for data centers 54
5.2.4 CHALLENGES 55
- 5.2.4.1 Lack of proper monitoring systems 55
5.3 SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYSIS 56
5.4 TRENDS/DISRUPTIONS IMPACTING CUSTOMER BUSINESS 57
5.4.1 REVENUE SHIFT AND NEW REVENUE POCKETS FOR DARK FIBER MARKET 57
5.5 ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS 58
5.6 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS 59
5.6.1 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS 61
5.6.2 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES 61
5.6.3 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS 61
5.6.4 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS 62
5.6.5 INTENSITY OF COMPETITIVE RIVALRY 62
5.7 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS 62
5.7.1 BANDWIDTH IG AND FLEXENTIAL BROUGHT ADDITIONAL DARK FIBER CAPACITY TO OREGON DATA CENTER 62
5.7.2 PAC-12 NETWORKS TEAMED UP WITH ZAYO TO BOOST ITS PRODUCTION CAPABILITY 63
5.7.3 FIRSTLIGHT PROVIDED DARK FIBER SOLUTIONS TO MEET SOPHISTICATED CONNECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS 63
5.7.4 TELLUS VENTURE ASSOCIATES HELPED CITY OF SAN LEANDRO DEVELOP 11-MILE FIBER LOOP 63
5.7.5 FIBERLIGHT EXPANDED DARK FIBER NETWORK CAPABILITIES FOR ROSWELL 64
5.7.6 FIBERLIGHT EXPANDED FIBER NETWORKING AND DEDICATED INTERNET ACCESS (DIA) IN BASTROP 64
5.8 TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS 64
5.8.1 KEY TECHNOLOGIES 64
- 5.8.1.1 Internet of Things 64
- 5.8.1.2 Edge computing 64
- 5.8.1.3 Artificial intelligence and machine learning 65
5.8.2 RELATED TECHNOLOGIES 65
- 5.8.2.1 Wavelength division multiplexing 65
- 5.8.2.2 Microwave data transmission 65
5.9 AVERAGE RENTAL SERVICE PRICE FOR DARK FIBER 65
5.10 TRADE ANALYSIS 67
5.11 PATENT ANALYSIS, 2019-2022 68
5.12 TARIFFS 74
5.13 REGULATORY STANDARDS 74
5.13.1 REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 74
5.13.2 STANDARDS 75
6 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY TYPE 77
6.1 INTRODUCTION 78
6.2 SINGLE-MODE FIBER 80
6.2.1 WIDE USE IN LONG-DISTANCE DATA TRANSMISSIONS TO DRIVE MARKET 80
6.3 MULTIMODE FIBER 87
6.3.1 ABILITY TO PROVIDE HIGH BANDWIDTH WITH HIGH SPEED TO BOOST DEMAND 87
6.3.2 STEP-INDEX MULTIMODE FIBER 95
6.3.3 GRADED-INDEX MULTIMODE FIBER 95
7 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY NETWORK TYPE 96
7.1 INTRODUCTION 97
7.2 METRO 98
7.2.1 COST-EFFECTIVE CONTROL AND PHYSICAL ROUTING TO DRIVE DEMAND 98
7.3 LONG HAUL 99
7.3.1 DEMAND FOR HIGH-SPEED AND RELIABLE CONNECTIVITY TO SUPPORT MARKET 99
8 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY MATERIAL 100
8.1 INTRODUCTION 101
8.2 GLASS 102
8.2.1 GROWING DEMAND FOR RUGGED FIBER TO PROPEL MARKET 102
8.3 PLASTIC 103
8.3.1 LOWER SIGNAL ATTENUATION THAN GLASS FIBER TO AUGMENT DEMAND 103
9 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY END USER 104
9.1 INTRODUCTION 105
9.2 INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS & TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY 107
9.2.1 USE OF DARK FIBER TO REDUCE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY 107
9.3 BANKING, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND INSURANCE INDUSTRY 109
9.3.1 NEED FOR SCALABILITY TO MEET GROWING BANDWIDTH DEMAND IN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO DRIVE MARKET 109
9.4 IT-ENABLED SERVICES 111
9.4.1 ABILITY TO MINIMIZE DOWNTIME OF NETWORK TO INCREASE DEMAND FOR DARK FIBER 111
9.5 MILITARY & AEROSPACE INDUSTRY 112
9.5.1 DEMAND FOR DARK FIBER TO INCREASE DUE TO ITS UNLIMITED BANDWIDTH AND HIGH-SECURITY FEATURES 112
9.6 OIL & GAS INDUSTRY 114
9.6.1 ULTRA-LOW OPTICAL LOSS AND HIGH OPTICAL RETURN LOSS OF DARK FIBER TO DRIVE MARKET 114
9.7 HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY 116
9.7.1 DARK FIBER AS OPTIMAL CONNECTIVITY SOLUTION TO DRIVE MARKET 116
9.8 RAILWAYS INDUSTRY 118
9.8.1 USE OF DARK FIBER TO MAKE OPERATIONS FUTURE-PROOF 118
9.9 OTHERS 119
10 DARK FIBER MARKET, BY REGION 121
10.1 INTRODUCTION 122
10.2 NORTH AMERICA 123
10.2.1 RECESSION IMPACT ANALYSIS 124
10.2.2 US 125
- 10.2.2.1 To dominate regional market during forecast period 125
10.2.3 CANADA 125
- 10.2.3.1 To hold significant share of regional market during forecast period 125
10.2.4 MEXICO 126
- 10.2.4.1 Expanding telecommunications industry to drive market 126
10.3 EUROPE 129
10.3.1 RECESSION IMPACT ANALYSIS 129
10.3.2 UK 130
- 10.3.2.1 Focus on accelerating cloud adoption across public organizations to drive market 130
10.3.3 GERMANY 131
- 10.3.3.1 Investments in network upgrades to drive market 131
10.3.4 FRANCE 131
- 10.3.4.1 Increasing focus on 5G to contribute to market growth 131
10.3.5 REST OF EUROPE 132
10.4 ASIA PACIFIC 135
10.4.1 RECESSION IMPACT ANALYSIS 136
10.4.2 CHINA 136
- 10.4.2.1 Boom in internet and telecommunications users to boost market 136
10.4.3 JAPAN 137
- 10.4.3.1 Investments in telecom industry to propel market 137
10.4.4 INDIA 137
- 10.4.4.1 Unprecedented increase in data consumption to fuel demand 137
10.4.5 SOUTH KOREA 138
- 10.4.5.1 Increasing focus on rolling out 5G network to drive market 138
10.4.6 REST OF ASIA PACIFIC 138
10.5 REST OF THE WORLD (ROW) 142
10.5.1 RECESSION IMPACT ANALYSIS 142
10.5.2 MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA 144
- 10.5.2.1 Increasing data center establishments to fuel demand 144
10.5.3 SOUTH AMERICA 144
- 10.5.3.1 To hold larger share of RoW dark fiber market than Middle East & Africa 144
11 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 147
11.1 INTRODUCTION 147
11.2 REVENUE ANALYSIS OF TOP 5 MARKET PLAYERS 149
11.3 MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS (2022) 150
11.4 COMPANY EVALUATION QUADRANT 152
11.4.1 STARS 152
11.4.2 EMERGING LEADERS 152
11.4.3 PERVASIVE PLAYERS 152
11.4.4 PARTICIPANTS 153
11.5 START-UP/SME EVALUATION QUADRANT 153
11.5.1 PROGRESSIVE COMPANIES 155
11.5.2 RESPONSIVE COMPANIES 155
11.5.3 DYNAMIC COMPANIES 155
11.5.4 STARTING BLOCKS 155
11.5.5 DARK FIBER MARKET: COMPANY FOOTPRINT 157
11.6 COMPETITIVE SCENARIOS AND TRENDS 160
11.6.1 PRODUCT LAUNCHES 160
11.6.2 DEALS 167
11.6.3 OTHERS 175
12 COMPANY PROFILES 183
12.1 KEY COMPANIES 183
12.1.1 AT&T 183
12.1.2 VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS, INC 188
12.1.3 CENTURYLINK, INC. (LUMEN TECHNOLOGIES) 196
12.1.4 CONSOLIDATED COMMUNICATIONS 202
12.1.5 EXA INFRASTRUCTURE (GTT COMMUNICATIONS) 206
12.1.6 COMCAST CORPORATION 210
12.1.7 COLT TECHNOLOGY SERVICES GROUP LIMITED 214
12.1.8 NTT COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 217
12.1.9 WINDSTREAM COMMUNICATIONS 221
12.1.10 ZAYO GROUP, LLC 225
12.2 OTHER PLAYERS 229
12.2.1 GLOBALCONNECT GROUP 229
12.2.2 DARK FIBRE AFRICA (PTY) LTD 230
12.2.3 FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 231
12.2.4 COLOGIX 231
12.2.5 CROWN CASTLE 232
12.2.6 DEPL 232
12.2.7 FIRSTLIGHT 233
12.2.8 UFINET 233
12.2.9 DOBSON TECHNOLOGIES 234
12.2.10 STERLITE POWER 234
12.2.11 SORRENTO NETWORKS 235
12.2.12 MICROSCAN 235
13 APPENDIX 236
13.1 DISCUSSION GUIDE 236
13.2 KNOWLEDGESTORE: MARKETSANDMARKETS’ SUBSCRIPTION PORTAL 240
13.3 CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS 242
13.4 RELATED REPORTS 242
13.5 AUTHOR DETAILS 243