Five years ago, the IOWN Global Forum was founded with a clear purpose: to revolutionize communications infrastructure to deliver the solutions and opportunities of tomorrow. As the world navigates intensifying political, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges, technological advances will play an increasingly vital role in tackling them.
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, we discussed how our vision to develop and roll out transformative network innovation on a worldwide scale is becoming all the more critical and will pave the way for a future that not only responds to crises but anticipates them.
Tackling the sustainability crisis
As internet traffic grows exponentially, so does our reliance on computers to process vast amounts of data. This increase in processing power has led to a corresponding rise in energy consumption. There have been tremendous advances in artificial intelligence (AI) but this comes with significant sustainability challenges. For example, training AI models at scale, such as GPT-4, can consume upwards of 50,000 megawatt-hours of energy – equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of nearly 5,000 average American homes.
With a fast-approaching deadline to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, addressing energy efficiency is ever more paramount for the future of AI across applications and industries.
Creating speed-of-light solutions
Optical technology can help tackle the global sustainability crisis. Unlike traditional electron-based systems, the power consumption of photonics-driven technology remains stable, even when transmission distance and frequency increase. This represents a significant breakthrough for data centers: enabling optical transmission of data not just between data centers via technologies like all-photonic networks, but also within the data center itself – between CPUs, GPUs, storage systems, and eventually even within circuit boards and individual chips.
The introduction of highly-efficient optical transistors in 2019 marked a significant breakthrough in this field, setting the foundation for IOWN technologies. Today, the IOWN Global Forum has launched several collaborations focusing on sustainability. The ambition is to lower power consumption by 100 times; deliver higher transmission capacity by 125 times; and reduce end-to-end latency by 200 times.
To achieve this, we propose two key strategies: the establishment of distributed data centers and the deployment of compact AI systems in well-connected constellations.
Distributing data centers
Firstly, the increasing demand for data centers faces a number of hurdles, including a lack of available or affordable urban land for new facilities and high latency in suburban installations. The All-Photonics Network (APN) is a solution designed to overcome these challenges. Unlike conventional networks that require photonic-electronic conversions, the APN operates purely optically, drastically reducing latency while improving network performance.
APN-equipped and distributed data centers will utilize power more efficiently by transmitting data using only light. By promoting the strategic dispersion of data centers into available suburban areas, we can also make significant strides towards achieving local energy consumption goals.
Democratizing AI
Our second proposal involves the development of compact AI systems connected in a constellation, enabling specialized AIs to interact effectively. Compact AI models are more streamlined versions of singular, more complex, and massive AI systems used by hyperscalers that function in isolation. They require less computational power and data to operate effectively, which makes them ideal for smaller enterprises without the resources to invest heavily in IT and GPU infrastructure.
As GPU systems are increasingly deployed deeper in the network – further from enterprise sites – agile, high-performance optical networks become essential for delivering low-latency access. GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaas) plays a key role here, allowing both smaller players and hyperscalers to offer competitive AI services regardless of location. Promoting communication across these compact AIs can enhance synchronization capabilities, lead to superior performance, and ultimately democratize knowledge.
Enriching experiences
As industries arguably shift the historical focus of their products and services from quantity to quality experiences for their customers, this transition is now evolving into merging real and virtual spaces. Whether it’s bringing the excitement of a live event to the living room of remote audiences, or using digital twins to revolutionize manufacturing decision-making, maximize operations, and drive efficiencies. The landscape is becoming increasingly digitalized – from the home to the enterprise.
Value creation of solutions that meet and exceed customer expectations are especially extending into ways that support diverse cultures and communities. As energy efficiency grows in social importance, there’s a growing need for new communications infrastructure that effectively links and connects these real and virtual realms while also minimizing environmental impact.
A future of possibility
While our ultimate objective transcends current technological realities, we stand at the cusp of a milestone moment in communications history. The IOWN Global Forum is working to bridge the gap between today’s technological advancements and the aspirations for a sustainable future. Across our 150+ Forum Members, each brings a unique perspective on these pressing issues, reminding us that collaboration is key.
From the telephone in 1876 to the wireless communication revolution in the 1970s, each technological leap has fundamentally transformed human connection. We’re now on the brink of an entirely new and exciting era, where next-generation infrastructure will redefine our everyday interactions and experiences, creating a smarter, more prosperous and sustainable world in which the whole of society can thrive.
