• Hyperscalers and carriers accounted for 95% of long-haul fibre purchases in Zayo’s research

• Demand was strongest on routes connecting major data centres, although Zayo did not identify the fastest-growing markets


The fact

Demand for long-haul fibre doubled between 2024 and 2025, according to research published by digital infrastructure provider Zayo. The company linked the increase to large organisations adding capacity between data centres for AI, cloud services and other data-heavy workloads. Zayo said hyperscalers and telecom carriers accounted for 95% of long-haul fibre purchases. It also reported increases of up to 20 times in some markets. though it did not identify them. AI infrastructure providers and cloud companies were also becoming more significant customers.

The assessment

Zayo’s figures show that the increase is concentrated among large buyers rather than spread evenly across the fibre market. Hyperscalers and carriers account for most long-haul purchases, so much of the reported growth appears to come from additional capacity between major data centres. The figures do not show how widely that growth extends.

For BTW readers, the strongest demand is likely to be on routes linking major data-centre locations. The figures support investment on those corridors, but not a broader claim that long-haul fibre demand is rising equally across all markets.

What to watch

Watch for Zayo to identify the markets behind the largest increases and disclose new route orders, fibre deployments or capacity sales. Results from other network operators would help show whether the same pattern extends beyond Zayo’s customer base.