Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

AI has taken the technology industry by storm, with enterprises deploying emerging applications to create business value. Amid this shift, operators are leveraging network automation, optical innovation and more to support enterprise AI use cases. Still, the technology ecosystem must balance AI’s opportunities with its challenges.

While AI can improve operations, it can also leave companies more vulnerable to cyberattacks. As organizations deploy more AI tools and employees increasingly use them, the overall attack surface expands and opens more security gaps. This article explores how internet carriers are building their networks to support enterprises, while also discussing how operators are establishing trust with customers.

Table stakes: reliability, diversity and reach

AI’s requirements are similar to content distribution, cloud networking and previous industry shifts, but place even greater pressure on carrier-delivered enterprise network services. In these services, network diversity is integral, allowing carriers to eliminate single points of failure in the event of an outage, then quickly reroute traffic through the next best available path. This improved reliability is vital for enabling real-time enterprise AI operations amid increased instances of network disruption due to geopolitical sabotage or accidental damage.

As more hyperscalers build sprawling AI data center campuses, network reach will also prove even more crucial. By continuously expanding their network footprints, carriers can help enterprises access these sites no matter where they’re located, with operators’ high-capacity connectivity infrastructure facilitating the transfer of massive data volumes between these campuses.

Similar to how content distribution networks rely on a robust network underlay, backbone connectivity provides the high-capacity, long-haul transport underpinning the delivery of AI inferencing responses. While the backbone itself does not cache or deliver these responses, its densely interconnected networks ensure that this AI traffic reaches regional and access networks, which then distribute responses to end users.

Lightspeed: optical innovation

With data center operators innovating to support AI’s demands, carriers are also strengthening their optical networking infrastructure to enable enterprises’ high-capacity applications. Network operators are integrating 400G coherent pluggable optics to keep pace with escalating capacity needs, with some already planning 800G coherent pluggable deployments in the future.

While traditional transponders continue to deliver high performance and reliability, operators are also using open optical line systems and IPoDWDM primarily to control cost. By disaggregating the optical layer and extending IP directly over DWDM, carriers can simplify architectures, reduce power consumption and capital expenses, and create more vendor competition. These approaches offer a more economical path to meet AI’s surging bandwidth demands. While optical innovation plays a role in serving enterprises, it can also help carriers support hyperscalers.

As hyperscalers build large AI campuses and their own DWDM lines, carriers that have demonstrated their commitment to optical innovation can serve as managed optical fiber Network (MOFN) providers. This does not mean that carriers will build or replace hyperscalers’ networks, but they can supplement them on certain routes where hyperscalers may not have the time or resources to deploy additional capacity. Through this MOFN model, carriers can help hyperscalers bridge the gap as more AI data centers are built in geographic locations with good energy availability but limited connectivity.

Considerations amid industry shifts

AI has numerous benefits across the technology ecosystem. But carriers and enterprises must stay up to date with patches and implement safeguards as they integrate AI into their internal operations. While companies want to use more AI tools, adding more tools can also open security gaps.

Security is on everyone’s minds, with operators maintaining the integrity of their networks by planning their AI implementations carefully. Third-party validation, such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications, will also likely become nearly mandatory. These certifications help carriers build trust with enterprise customers and demonstrate cyber resilience as they pursue the operational benefits of emerging applications.

Carrier-grade connectivity: The backbone of enterprise AI

Whether enabling current data center interconnection use cases or supporting eventual edge inferencing, backbone connectivity remains the foundational enabler of enterprise AI. By building their networks to improve capacity, reach and diversity, carriers can help enterprises maximize the business value of these applications. Amid today’s innovations, network operators that are mindful of security safeguards can balance AI’s benefits with its challenges, helping enterprises deploy their applications with confidence.

For more information on how backbone connectivity is enabling enterprise AI, see Arelion’s enterprise solutions.

Mattias Fridström, Chief Evangelist