Hollow-Core Fiber Enabled Interconnects for Ultra-Low-Latency Edge Computing
Keywords:
hollow-core fiber, edge computing, ultra-low latency, optical interconnects, data center networks, infrastructure governance, sustainability, synchronizationAbstract
Edge computing has emerged as a critical response to the latency, bandwidth, and sovereignty limits of centralized cloud infrastructures. Yet the promise of edge computing depends not only on computation placed near users but also on the interconnect fabric that binds distributed compute, storage, and control planes into a coherent system. This paper examines hollow-core fiber as a transformative physical-layer enabler for ultra-low-latency edge interconnects. Unlike conventional silica-core fiber, hollow-core fiber guides light largely in air or vacuum, reducing propagation delay and offering the prospect of lower nonlinearity and improved latency determinism. These properties matter for edge systems in which microseconds can determine whether an application remains interactive, safe, or economically viable. The paper develops a system-level analysis of hollow-core fiber enabled edge interconnects by connecting photonic advances to architecture, deployment, governance, robustness, fairness, and sustainability. It argues that hollow-core fiber should not be treated as a simple upgrade to existing data center links. Rather, it reshapes assumptions about where latency-sensitive workloads can be placed, how synchronization can be maintained, and how infrastructure ownership and regulation may evolve. The analysis also identifies trade-offs involving cost, manufacturability, fault management, energy use, and equitable access. The conclusion is that hollow-core fiber can support ultra-low-latency edge computing, but only if technical design is coupled with credible governance, shared standards, and sustainable deployment models.
References
1. Shi, W., Cao, J., Zhang, Q., Li, Y., & Xu, L. (2016). Edge computing: Vision and challenges. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 3(5), 637-646.
2. Satyanarayanan, M. (2017). The emergence of edge computing. Computer, 50(1), 30-39.
3. Mao, Y., You, C., Zhang, J., Huang, K., & Letaief, K. B. (2017). A survey on mobile edge computing: The communication perspective. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 19(4), 2322-2358.
4. Taleb, T., Samdanis, K., Mada, B., Flinck, H., Dutta, S., & Sabella, D. (2017). On multi-access edge computing: A survey of the emerging 5G network edge cloud architecture and orchestration. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 19(3), 1657-1681.
5. Kachris, C., & Tomkos, I. (2012). A survey on optical interconnects for data centers. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 14(4), 1021-1036.
6. Poletti, F., Wheeler, N. V., Petrovich, M. N., Baddela, N., Numkam Fokoua, E., Hayes, J. R., Jasion, G. T., Jung, Y., & Richardson, D. J. (2013). Towards high-capacity fibre-optic communications at the speed of light in vacuum. Nature Photonics, 7(4), 279-284.
7. Zhou, Z., Dzieciol, H., Clark, K., Luo, Y., Richardson, D., Poletti, F., ... & Liu, Z. (2023). Low-latency wavelength-switched clock-synchronized intra-data center interconnects enabled by hollow core fiber. Optics Express, 31(15), 24739-24748.
8. Cregan, R. F., Mangan, B. J., Knight, J. C., Birks, T. A., Russell, P. S. J., Roberts, P. J., & Allan, D. C. (1999). Single-mode photonic band gap guidance of light in air. Science, 285(5433), 1537-1539.
9. Russell, P. S. J. (2003). Photonic crystal fibers. Science, 299(5605), 358-362.
10. Richardson, D. J., Fini, J. M., & Nelson, L. E. (2013). Space-division multiplexing in optical fibres. Nature Photonics, 7(5), 354-362.
11. Puttnam, B. J., Rademacher, G., & Luís, R. S. (2021). Space-division multiplexing for optical fiber communications. Optica, 8(9), 1186-1203.
12. Masanet, E., Shehabi, A., Lei, N., Smith, S., & Koomey, J. (2020). Recalibrating global data center energy-use estimates. Science, 367(6481), 984-986.
13. Freitag, C., Berners-Lee, M., Widdicks, K., Knowles, B., Blair, G. S., & Friday, A. (2021). The real climate and transformative impact of ICT: A critique of estimates, trends, and regulations. Patterns, 2(9), 100340.
14. Belkhir, L., & Elmeligi, A. (2018). Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: Trends to 2040 & recommendations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 177, 448-463.
15. Roman, R., Lopez, J., & Mambo, M. (2018). Mobile edge computing, fog et al.: A survey and analysis of security threats and challenges. Future Generation Computer Systems, 78, 680-698.
16. Chen, X., Jiao, L., Li, W., & Fu, X. (2016). Efficient multi-user computation offloading for mobile-edge cloud computing. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, 24(5), 2795-2808.
17. Greenberg, A., Hamilton, J., Maltz, D. A., & Patel, P. (2008). The cost of a cloud: Research problems in data center networks. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 39(1), 68-73.
18. Barroso, L. A., Clidaras, J., & Hölzle, U. (2013). The datacenter as a computer: An introduction to the design of warehouse-scale machines (2nd ed.). Morgan & Claypool.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
