Pilot Fiber has expanded its metro network in New York City, rolling out high-capacity wavelength services and upgrading its backbone to support 400G connections. The deployment uses an 800G-ready Smartoptics ROADM architecture to provide scalable, automated enterprise connectivity across the city.
Technology behind the upgrade: The operator deployed Smartoptics DCP-R ROADMs and a DCP-2 transponder chassis, configured in a compact 2U footprint to fit congested points of presence across Manhattan and nearby data centers. The system is designed to scale toward future 800G readiness as demand grows.
With a network that now spans more than 300 miles and interconnects over 1,000 commercial buildings, Pilot Fiber is targeting latency- and capacity-sensitive workloads such as trading, quantum experiments, and AI inference, linking its Manhattan footprint to New Jersey data centers where many enterprises co-locate critical infrastructure.
Smartoptics’ SoSmart management suite is cited as providing visibility and a structured path to automate service planning and activation while preserving reliability, a key factor in Pilot Fiber’s push into automated enterprise connectivity for demanding metro markets.
CEO Joe Fasone noted that the team was able to install and test the equipment and bring services online in about two weeks. The release did not disclose pricing, contract terms, or the exact list of connected data centers. The project marks a broader effort to modernize metro fiber across major U.S. markets and to support time-to-market as networks scale.
