Relativity Networks has signed a strategic partnership with Network Planning Solutions (NPS) to support commercial deployments of hollow-core fiber (HCF) infrastructure.

UK-based NPS is an international provider of fiber-optic installation and support services, and will become the first member of Relativity Networks' Trusted Installation Partner program.

Relativity is pushing to develop next-generation fiber technology to support the demands of AI data center operators.

The company notes that HCF is designed to support the most demanding applications in AI, cloud computing, telecommunications, and high-frequency financial trading.

HCF features an air-filled center channel that is surrounded by a ring of glass tubes, akin to a honeycomb pattern. The design allows for higher capacity with minimized chromatic dispersion.

Traditional fiber-optic cables have typically limited data centers to within 60 kilometers (37 miles) of power providers - or to one another - due to latency constraints. HCF extends this range to 90 kilometers (56 miles), claims Relativity.

Relativity notes that along with NPS, the two companies "have worked through hundreds of splices of the company's fiber, applying the latest methods including rotational alignment and interferometer inspection of cleaves."

"Everyone in the industry is struggling to understand how to integrate something new into their ecosystem. There are many questions about HCF and how it connects to existing systems," said Jason Eichenholz, founder and CEO, Relativity Networks.

"We are addressing this by having a trusted installation partner like NPS, that has significant experience installing HCF across multiple installations and is an important part of Relativity's ecosystem, which includes everything from fiber to cabling to connectorization to network design. NPS is our boots on the ground for our final phase of installation for our customers, offering a streamlined and reliable path as the industry moves toward a new era in optical communications."

NPS has been working on HCF projects since 2019. Relativity notes that the partnership will help the company to scale its global production and installation efforts of HCF.

"By working together, we can meet the most demanding needs of digital infrastructure customers and help them realize the significant benefits of hollow-core fiber," added Daniel Preston, CEO of NPS.

So far this year, Relativity has raised $10.7 million in funding for its HCF efforts. The company raised $6.1 million in seed funding to support its development of HCF cables for data centers in July. Earlier this year, Relativity also raised $4.6 million in a previous pre-seed round.

On top of this, Relativity also announced a partnership with Prysmian in March for the mass production of HCF and cabling.

Eichenholz has previously told DCD that the development of the technology is the sort of opportunity the telecoms industry only gets every 50 years or so.

HCF can transmit data nearly 50 percent faster when compared with the conventional fiber-optic cable long in use by the data industry. On top of this, it enables data to travel 1.5 times further without impacting the latency that can throw intricate multi-location data operations and applications out of sync.