Fiber
Characteristics
that
Affect
Latency




Fiber‐optic
communication
is
a
method
of
transmitting
information
from
one
place
to

another
by
sending
pulses
of
light
through
an
optical
fiber.
This
is
important
to
note

when
discussing
the
variables
that
affect
latency.






Distance

The
definition
of
zero
network
latency
would
be
network
transport
at
the
speed
of
light.

That
said,
the
further
the
light
has
to
travel
the
higher
the
latency.
Obtaining
just
a
fiber

connection
from
point
A
to
point
Z
is
no
longer
sufficient
to
ensure
optimal
data
transfer

speeds.

Fiber
networks
do
not
normally
follow
a
direct
line
between
any
given
“A”
and

“Z”
location.

It
follows
geographic
routes
and
contours
related
to
roads,
railroad
tracks,

or
other
types
of
right‐of‐way
where
the
fiber
was
placed.
For
this
reason
it
is
important

to
understand
the
exact
route
your
circuit
follows.
You
want
to
eliminate
any
wasted

distance.
For
dark
fiber
as
well
as
lit
circuits,
that
is
not
an
option
for
a
typical
service

provider,
as
they
are
quoting
their
circuits
on
an
existing
fiber
path
that
in
most
cases

cannot
be
varied.

However,
a
network
integrator
that
can
utilize
optimal
spans
from

multiple
providers
will
be
able
to
piece
together
the
most
direct
route,
incorporating

new
fiber
construction
where
required.






Reaching
the
end
of
the
Fiber



In
the
longhaul
environment,
there
are
two
main
options
for
extending
the
transmission

of
light
through
the
fiber;
optical
amplifiers
and
regenerators.
Amplifiers
and

Regenerators
are
placed
along
the
fiber
optic
route
to
ensure
that
the
signal
is
able
to

travel
the
distance
while
keeping
its’
integrity.
The
main
difference
between
the
two
is

that
an
amplifier
adds
light
to
the
existing
wavelength
to
increase
the
strength
of
the

signal
with
very
little
added
latency,
whereas
a
regenerator
will
add
a
substantial

amount
of
latency.
This
is
required
for
both
lit
and
dark
fiber
solutions
and
needs
to
be

taken
into
consideration
as
it
is
a
highly
variable
component
of
the
end‐to‐end
circuit

that
affects
latency.






What
is
Dark
Fiber?



Dark
fiber
is
a
term
used
to
describe
fiber
optic
strands
that
are
not
being
used
‐
i.e.

there
is
no
equipment
on
the
ends
of
the
fiber.
The
amount
of
dark
fiber,
particularly
in

the
United
States,
increased
dramatically
over
the
past
decade.
Dark
fiber
is
contrasted

with
active
fiber
optic
cable,
often
referred
to
as
“lit”
fiber.



In
the
past,
dark
fiber
was
virtually
never
sold.
Telecommunications
companies

considered
it
their
core
asset,
and
selling
it
would
be
akin
to
selling
off
their
business.

Due
to
what
has
been
referred
to
by
many
as
a
“glut”
of
fiber
in
the
marketplace,
along

with
a
need
to
generate
revenue,
selling
dark
fiber
became
more
common
and
is
now
a

practice
of
a
few
telecommunications
companies.
The
reality
though
is
that
many

providers
are
still
reluctant
to
sell
dark
fiber
and
will
only
offer
lit
circuits,
so
most
of
the

time
your
choices
for
dark
fiber
are
very
limited.



In
some
markets
where
there
is
a
large
supply
of
dark
fiber,
prices
have
been
driven

down
to
levels
at
which
many
companies
that
traditionally
bought
lit
circuits
are
finding

it
practical
to
purchase
wholesale
dark
fiber
and
light
it
with
their
own
equipment.

Many
Enterprise,
Government,
and
Educational
Institutions
that
have
high‐bandwidth

needs
are
now
looking
to
dark
fiber
as
a
means
to
find
economies
of
scale
by
owning
&

operating
their
own
network
as
opposed
to
purchasing
multiple
lit
circuits.

Unfortunately,
because
so
few
telecom
companies
are
willing
sell
dark
fiber
in
most

markets,
the
available
dark
fiber
route
may
be
much
longer
than
an
alternative
lit
circuit

path
from
another
provider.





Latency
of
Dark
Fiber
and
Lit
Fiber



When
evaluating
the
value
of
dark
fiber
the
most
important
issue
is
the
economics.
Dark

fiber
requires
a
large
upfront
Capital
Expense
for
transmission
equipment
plus
the
cost

of
the
dark
fiber,
but
allows
you
to
add
additional
bandwidth
capacity
at
nominal

incremental
cost
beyond
your
initial
investment.
A
lit
circuit
will
be
a
leased
asset
and

will
fall
to
the
Operational
Expenses
of
the
company,
but
as
your
bandwidth
needs

grow,
each
additional
circuit
is
a
100%
incremental
cost.




So
if
cost
is
not
your
primary
consideration,
which
option
would
offer
the
lowest

latency?
It
is
a
popular
misconception
that
Dark
Fiber
always
has
the
lowest
latency

between
two
points
‐
it
can
be
in
some
instances,
but
there
are
many
times
when
a
lit

circuit
is
the
better
choice
when
low
latency
is
an
absolute
priority
due
to
a
shorter

circuit
path
and/or
better
equipment
configuration.





Case
Study:



When
working
with
a
top
trading
firm
their
main
goal
was
to
drive
the
lowest
latency

circuit
they
could
between
two
locations.
They
came
to
CFN
Services
and
requested

pricing
for
dark
fiber
strands.
After
a
thorough
evaluation
of
both
dark
fiber
and
lit

circuit
provider
options
to
connect
various
“A”
and
“Z”
address
pairs,
in
most
cases
the

shortest
available
dark
fiber
path
would
have
higher
latency
than
the
lit
circuit
path:




 Dark
Fiber


 Lit
Circuit



A
Location
 Z
Location
 Route
Distance
 Route
Distance

Building
A
 Building
B
 40.3
 31.9

Building
B
 Building
C
 41.7
 27.6

Building
C
 Building
D
 36.6
 36.4

Building
D
 Building
E
 29.2
 27.3

Building
E
 Building
F
 52.2
 50.0

Building
F
 Building
G
 43.7
 29.1

Building
G
 Building
H
 105.2
 60.1

Building
H
 Building
I
 38.6
 40.2

Building
I
 Building
J
 26.1
 11.6

Building
J
 Building
K
 9.3
 16.5

Building
K
 Building
L
 25.2
 12.9

Building
L
 Building
M
 8.9
 4.7

Building
M
 Building
N
 26.2
 17.9

Building
N
 Building
O
 29.5
 17.9

Building
O
 Building
P
 38.8
 16.8

Building
P
 Building
Q
 23.3
 21.6

Building
Q
 Building
R
 10.6
 14.5

Building
R
 Building
S
 7.0
 5.7

Building
S
 Building
T
 10.6
 4.7

Building
T
 Building
U
 3.9
 3.7

Building
U
 Building
V
 34.6
 34.6

Building
V
 Building
W
 3.1
 1.8

Building
W
 Building
X
 38.6
 41.2









As
you
can
see,
the
dark
fiber
span
provided
a
distance
advantage
in
only
a
handful
of

the
spans
analyzed.
It
was
found
that
this
was
primarily
due
to
the
fact
that
for
most

spans
there
was
only
one
dark
fiber
provider,
whereas
there
was
often
several
lit

services
providers
that
had
shorter
routes
but
they
are
not
willing
to
sell
the
dark
fiber.