Page 56 - SAMENA Trends - May 2025

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

ARTICLE

Building the AI-centric F5.5G All-Optical Network: A

Catalyst for Middle East and Central Asia’s Digital Leap

The global AI revolution has entered an unprecedented phase,
with over 1,300 industry-specific large models deployed worldwide
and $86 billion invested by operators to integrate AI into network
infrastructure by 2029. Countries like the U.S., China, and the EU
are racing to establish AI ecosystems, while the Middle East and
Central Asia are emerging as pivotal hubs, fueled by Saudi Vision
2030, UAE’s AI Strategy 2031, and Kazakhstan’s Digital Silk Road,
etc. Concurrently, F5.5G all-optical networks have evolved to meet
AI’s demands for deterministic latency (less than 1 ms), terabit-
level bandwidth, and 99.9999% reliability. These networks underpin
critical AI applications—from smart cities to industrial automation—
transitioning from "dumb pipes" to intelligent infrastructure that
adapts dynamically to service needs.
The next decade will witness the fast

popularization of AI. Huawei hopes to work
with industry partners to build an AI-centric
F5.5G all-optical network, extending optical
switching to data centers and metro edges,
building premium networks for optical
access by boosting coverage, bandwidth,
and experience, and fully injecting AI

capabilities to the management and control
platform

The Imperative for AI-centric F5.5G All-Optical Network Bob Chen
To unlock the full potential of AI, the optical industry is faced with a President of Huawei Optical Business
new challenge to enable people to utilize AI and its applications as Product Line
easily and freely as electricity. To achieve this, an AI-centric F5.5G
all-optical network featuring premium transmission and all-optical
10 Gbps must be built. The premium transmission network provides
high-quality connections to computing and satisfies the high-quality
connection requirements of distributed data center architectures.
The all-optical 10 Gbps network provides ubiquitous and ultra-
broadband 10 Gbps bandwidth, enabling users to experience
intelligent services anytime, anywhere.

56 MAY 2025