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Inside a regional fiber build optimized for AI-era transport demands with LightRiver
Gigabit Fiber’s new southwest long-haul build — connecting Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Phoenix — may look like another regional transport expansion. But to LightRiver, the engineering partner behind the deployment, the real story is how AI-enabled automation, software-driven optimization, and factory-built integration are reshaping what fiber operators can deliver, and how fast.
The build uses Nokia’s 1830 GX platform and is being deployed with LightRiver to provide higher-capacity, lower-latency links into AI data centers and enterprise sites in the region. The platform is also designed to curb power consumption while expanding available bandwidth.
While hyperscalers typically headline AI infrastructure buildouts, this time a regional fiber provider is leading. According to LightRiver’s SVP Marketing and Sales Operations Walt Paskowski, that reflects a strategic shift: Gigabit Fiber isn’t trying to sell AI services; it’s embedding AI into network operations to accelerate customer turn-ups and introduce a new level of agility. “They are trying to utilize AI on behalf of their own customers [for] that speed to market,” he said. “So, it isn’t about providing any kind of AI service, but it’s actually embedding that service into the way that they design the network, the way that they deploy the network, or even turn up services on that network.”
That speed-to-market advantage is central to Gigabit Fiber’s expansion narrative. The company highlighted that it can now activate new connections in days, not weeks — a shift LightRiver attributes directly to software-enabled automation. Traditionally, service activation requires days of manual routing, record reconciliation, and engineering touchpoints, especially for operators that have grown through M&A.
But as Paskowski explained, LightRiver’s software platform changes the equation: “We have basically a software-enabled service that can do that for them almost in real time. So, what would take days or weeks of trial and error can happen within an hour or minutes.”
The same automation helps operators proactively locate stranded capacity and monetize unused assets. Instead of reacting to demand, sales teams can see real-time availability mapped against network growth targets. In an AI-driven infrastructure environment where every day of delay translates into lost revenue, that level of visibility matters.
Power efficiency is also becoming a central design factor as AI data centers confront energy constraints. “All of a sudden it became: ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t have enough power to even run my data center,’” Paskowski noted, underscoring the need for transport solutions that deliver high capacity without exacerbating power consumption.
Paskowski said LightRiver’s approach is intentionally multi-vendor and rooted at the optical layer, allowing it to design networks around each customer’s needs rather than a single technology stack. “We don’t have a one-size-fits-all model,” he said, noting that requirements vary widely across utilities, service providers, and hyperscalers. LightRiver segments its teams accordingly, but applies the same core methodology across markets: designing, building, deploying, and automating networks with each customer’s long-term business goals in mind. “It’s fundamentally the same across the board, no matter what market you’re talking about; there are just different nuances,” he said.
Finally, Paskowski highlighted LightRiver’s unique “factory-built network” approach as a major differentiator. “We will build gigabit infrastructure within our factory end-to-end… It’s the actual equipment that will be delivered in the field.” By fully constructing, integrating, and testing the network before shipment, LightRiver removes weeks of field engineering and accelerates deployment.
As for why Gigabit Fiber chose this specific Texas-to-Phoenix corridor, Paskowski couldn’t say for sure; however, he emphasized that the broader national trend is clear: Regional providers are racing to position themselves inside emerging AI infrastructure corridors, and the winners will be those who can scale quickly without adding operational complexity.
As operators compete to support the next wave of AI-driven connectivity demands, LightRiver sees its multi-vendor engineering expertise — and its automation-first approach — as essential.
