Orange and NTT push all-photonic networks for decentralized data centers

The IOWN Global Forum, founded by NTT, Sony and Intel, is developing standards for All-Photonic Networks that remove routers from fiber links. Orange and NTT outlined three use cases — Scale-Across, Sync-Across and Reach-Across — with trials showing 1–2% overhead when linking data centers 40 km apart.

• IOWN Global Forum founded in 2020 by NTT, Sony and Intel, now over 180 members
• Three APN patterns: Scale-Across, Sync-Across and Reach-Across
• Trial linked two AI data centers 40 km apart with 2% duration overhead
• Confidential computing keeps data encrypted on remote GPUs