Senko on How Hollow Core Fiber Could Solve AI Data Centers’ Land and Power Crunch

Why It Matters

Hollow‑core fiber could dissolve the land, power, and latency bottlenecks that limit AI data‑center expansion, enabling faster, more sustainable AI deployment at scale.

Key Takeaways

• Hollow‑core fiber transmits optical signals ~30% faster than standard fiber.
• Faster latency enables AI model training across geographically dispersed data centers.
• Reduces land, water, and power constraints by allowing remote site placement.
• Current high CAPEX expected to drop with ecosystem standardization and scale.
• Industry collaboration on connectors, testing, and splicing critical for adoption.

Summary

The interview at Mobile World Congress spotlights hollow‑core (holo) fiber as a potential game‑changer for AI‑driven data centers. While the technology has existed for three decades under the name photonic crystal fiber, its ultra‑low latency—about 30% faster signal propagation—makes it uniquely suited to the massive data flows of large language models.

Speakers argue that the speed advantage translates into tangible competitive edges: milliseconds saved in financial trading can be magnified across AI training cycles, accelerating model convergence. Moreover, holo‑fiber’s low latency permits data centers to be sited farther apart, unlocking cheaper land, abundant water for cooling, and greener power sources, thereby easing the current gigawatt‑scale, square‑kilometer footprint constraints.

Illustrative analogies pepper the discussion—a stock broker’s split‑second edge, a car’s larger engine complemented by aerodynamic design—underscoring that fiber and silicon advances are complementary, not substitutive. Senko’s role in manufacturing connectors and the broader need for standardized splicing, testing, and handling procedures are highlighted as essential for scaling.

If the ecosystem coalesces around common standards, the high upfront cost of hollow‑core fiber could fall, making it a foundational layer for the next AI super‑cycle. Its adoption would lower barriers to new, geographically dispersed AI factories, reshaping infrastructure economics and accelerating AI innovation worldwide.

Original Description

During Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2026, RCRtv's Sean Kinney sat down with Dr. Bernard Lee, Snr. Dir. of Strategic Technology & Innovation of SENKO Advanced Components, to discuss hollow core fiber in the future of AI infrastructure.