NTT’s IOWN provides ultra low latency and energy efficiency in Japan and Hong Kong
The rapid uptake of generative AI in data centers and semiconductor factories is causing a surge in power consumption, which is predicted to reach 11 times the current level by 2033. To address this issue, the NTT Group has proposed the “IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network)” concept, which aims to improve energy efficiency and achieve ultra-low latency and high-capacity communications through innovative optical communications technology.
By utilizing optical communications technology, IOWN aims to achieve dramatically low-power, high-quality, high-capacity, and low-latency communications by migrating from conventional electronics-based networks to photonics (optical)-based networks.
“Our research and development efforts are focused on achieving 1/200th the current level of latency, 125x the current level of capacity, and 100x the current level of power efficiency by 2032,” said NTT’s Tetsushi Shoji.
NTT Group is working toward “IOWN 1.0,” a goal that will see the network become all-optical. Even with current networks using optical fiber, data is repeatedly converted into electrical signals through routers and switches. However, if communication from terminal to terminal were to be entirely optical, the power consumption required for conversion would be significantly reduced.
Furthermore, communication latency is expected to be reduced. “Traditional communications involve delays because data passes through multiple nodes. However, with the IOWN APN (All Photonics Network), data reaches its destination directly, dramatically improving communication latency,” says Shoji.
On August 29, 2024, a 2,893-km IOWN APN demonstration experiment connecting Tokyo and Taiwan. The optical transport connection linked the Chunghwa Telecom Headquarter in Taipei City with the Musashino R&D Center in Musashino, Japan, achieving an ultra-low latency of approximately 17 milliseconds over an approximately 3,000 km network. Latency fluctuations were also extremely small, The innovative application was showcased publicly at the NTT R&D Forum 2024 in November 2024.
NTT Group is also considering optical fiber inside computers as part of its IOWN 2.0 and beyond concept.
Currently, the wiring inside computers uses electrical signals, and as processing speeds increase, problems with power consumption and heat generation become more serious. To solve this, the goal is to opticalize communication between boards and chips, dramatically improving data transfer efficiency.
“Ultimately, by utilizing optical fiber even inside computers, we believe it will be possible to improve power efficiency by 100 times and communication speeds by 125 times,” says Shoji.
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Nearly two weeks ago, NTT Docomo Business and NTT Com Asia launched the APN InterLink service, which is targeted at Hong Kong’s financial services sector. This all optical/photonic network, promised in the late 1990s, eliminates Optical to Electrical to Optical (OEO) repeaters, thereby greatly improving transmission performance.
“As an all-photonic solution, data is transmitted entirely at the speed of light with minimal conversion, resulting in significantly reduced latency and jitter. This capability enables mission-critical applications such as real-time trading and advanced AI workloads,” said Steven So, chief technology officer at NTT Com Asia.
So noted that recent performance tests have shown that an all-photonic network substantially improves upon a traditional setup.
In Japan, NTT Data and NTT West collaborated with MUFG Bank to conduct a successful test of APN during a live IT migration involving multiple data centers situated 50km to 100km apart. The demonstration included long-distance, synchronous database management system replication between locations up to 2,500km apart. The results showed less than one second of downtime.
“This highlights how APN addresses next-generation infrastructure requirements of the financial services sector,” So said. ” IOWN APN can deliver ultra-low latency, high-capacity, and energy-efficient network photonics-based connectivity to address their needs – where every millisecond counts in the digital world.”
References:
https://www.ntt.com/business/services/xmanaged/lp/itsmf/202511-nttcom.html
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