Nokia and Zayo Trial 800Gb/s to Boost AI-ready Data Centres

Nokia and Zayo Europe complete a live trial pushing 800Gb/s across 1,000km of fibre, proving that Europe’s digital backbone can evolve without a full infrastructure overhaul.

The trial focuses on upgrading existing networks with new capabilities, showing how high-performance data transmission can support the expanding workloads of data centres, mobile networks and AI applications.

With data centres now central to everything from telco to real-time AI processing, this collaboration provides a practical example of how fibre infrastructure can be enhanced to handle emerging demands.

Zayo Europe, which operates a fibre network spanning over 2.3 million kilometres and connects more than 600 data centres, is at the heart of this shift.

Its infrastructure supports cloud providers, system integrators and telecom carriers by offering resilient, high-capacity connectivity across 17 metropolitan areas in 11 countries.

Transforming infrastructure for AI and mobile demands

The field trial saw Nokia and Zayo transmit data using an 800Gb/s alien wavelength between Paris and Marseille.

This involved deploying Nokia’s Photonic Service Engine 6s (PSE-6s) across a distance of over 1,000km. These optics significantly enhance throughput compared with standard 150GHz Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) channels.

Crucially, the test used Zayo’s open, multi-vendor optical line system, allowing Nokia’s technology to operate in a real-world, vendor-neutral environment.

This demonstrates how service providers and data centre operators can scale network capacity using advanced optical components without requiring the rebuilding of existing systems.

Michael Katz, Chief Product Officer at Zayo Europe, explains: “As economies continue to digitise, with the EU pushing to supercharge AI capabilities and Europe’s 6G vision, there’s an urgent need for networks to support these advancements.

“As a leading network infrastructure provider, we have always been at the forefront of innovation, being the first provider to upgrade its Pan-European network to support 400G client interfaces.

“This trial with Nokia sets a new industry standard as data centres increasingly mix and match equipment to enhance flexibility, reduce costs and improve performance.”

With AI workloads increasing and mobile traffic growing, telco infrastructure must not only be fast and reliable but also scalable.

Data centres serve as hubs for processing and distributing huge volumes of information.

By optimising how data is transmitted across long distances, this partnership shows that existing assets can be adapted to meet these pressures, rather than replaced.

Data centres benefit from high-capacity networking

The shift towards high-bandwidth, flexible infrastructure is most visible in how operators serve data centres and mobile network providers.

As services move closer to the edge, the volume of traffic exchanged across national and transnational links increases rapidly.

Systems must support everything from live streaming and e-commerce to machine learning and analytics.

Nokia’s PSE-6s technology is built to address these scenarios.

It enhances the lifespan of current infrastructure by increasing data throughput and efficiency without raising energy costs or installation complexity.

That’s especially important as Europe prepares for higher network loads driven by the adoption of 6G and further AI integration in public and private sectors.

Paul Alexander, Vice President and Country General Manager of UK & Ireland at Nokia, explains: "At Nokia, we are committed to driving the next generation of network infrastructure by delivering cutting-edge technology that enhances performance, efficiency and scalability.

“Our collaboration with Zayo Europe in this live field trial showcases how our PSE-6s technology can seamlessly integrate into existing infrastructures, enabling service providers to meet the evolving demands of a digital economy.

“With the growing need for high-speed, high-capacity networks to support advancements in AI and 6G, this trial exemplifies the critical role of innovation in helping businesses and data centres stay ahead of the curve.”

By showing how telco operators can adopt a modular upgrade approach, the trial supports long-term growth in mobile and cloud-native operations while containing capital expenditure.

Collaborating on a vendor-agnostic future

The wider telecoms and data infrastructure sectors are moving away from closed systems.

Instead, they are adopting vendor-neutral frameworks that support faster deployment, better cost control and easier integration of emerging technologies.

This test underscores the importance of such interoperability.

Nokia’s high-capacity optics worked seamlessly with Zayo’s existing network hardware, paving the way for practical upgrades across mixed-vendor systems already in use.

For data centre operators, that means new performance levels can be unlocked without disruptive rebuilds.

The move supports enterprise and telco operators looking to adapt to fast-evolving workloads while future-proofing their operations against the next wave of mobile and AI-driven demand.

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