Scala Data Centers has conducted a proof of concept for hollow core fiber optic technology at its Tamboré campus in São Paulo. Working with Lightera, a Furukawa Electric company, and Nokia, Scala reports a latency reduction of approximately 32 percent over conventional solid-core fiber during the test. The trial marks the first use of Lightera’s AccuCore hollow core fiber in Latin America between data center buildings.
At Tamboré, Scala provided data center infrastructure for the test. Lightera supplied its AccuCore hollow core fiber cable and connectivity hardware. Nokia contributed the 1830 PSI-M optical transmission platform for data center interconnect, which uses Nokia’s sixth-generation PSE-6 photonic chipset with integrated encryption. MagicComp handled cable installation and commissioning, while VIAVI Solutions provided optical testing with its OneAdvisor 800 Transport equipment, enabling measurements at 10, 100, and 400 Gigabit Ethernet rates.
Unlike conventional fiber, hollow core fiber transmits light via a central air core, which allows signals to travel faster. According to Scala, the tested fiber segment, ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 kilometers, demonstrated a practical latency improvement for intra-facility data center links. Targeted applications include AI and machine learning training, high-frequency financial trading, distributed computing, and cloud workloads requiring minimal latency between modules within a data center.
Lightera reports: “This is the most advanced optical technology available today. Hollow core fiber enables near-absolute maximum transmission speeds, delivering lower latency and greater energy efficiency. It’s as if São Paulo were digitally 32% closer to Vitória, Espírito Santo, a revolution for latency-sensitive workloads,” said Helio José Durigan, Senior Vice President for LATAM and EMEA regions at Lightera.
Nokia adds: “We are proud to see our 1830 platform successfully tested at the largest data center complex in Latin America, located in Brazil — a key market for the growth of AI infrastructure. This milestone demonstrates the critical role of collaboration across the digital ecosystem and underscores the importance of building transport networks capable of supporting next-generation AI workloads and future-proof scalability,” said Felipe Leão, Head of Optical Networks for Latin America at Nokia.
Scala, Lightera, and Nokia are now assessing production-scale deployments of hollow core fiber, initially focusing on ultra-low latency, high-volume data center applications. Future development plans include scaling from intra-site to metropolitan and long-haul scenarios as technology and deployment methodologies advance.
Source: Scala Data Centers
