Pilot Fiber launches enterprise wavelength services in NYC on 800G-ready Smartoptics ROADMs
Oslo, Norway - March 26, 2026 - Smartoptics, a leading provider of optical networking solutions, today announced that Pilot Fiber, a New York-based enterprise connectivity provider, has expanded their offerings with wavelength services up to 400G. The Smartoptics solution enables resilient interconnection between Pilot's data centers and its network across the New York metro area, supporting business-critical connectivity throughout Manhattan and into New Jersey. The deployment includes a 400G backbone upgrade with a scalable path to 800G, managed through SoSmart to support automation and operational resilience.
Pilot operates a dense fiber network across the New York metro area, spanning more than 300 miles and interconnecting over 1,000 commercial buildings. The company supports connectivity for NYC's enterprise and financial services sectors, including applications in trading, quantum, and AI inference, where demand is growing for high-capacity interconnection to major data center hubs in New Jersey. To deliver fully managed, end-to-end connectivity between its network and those data center hubs, Pilot now provides wavelength services over an 800G-ready Smartoptics ROADM architecture.
"What ultimately drove us to Smartoptics was the flexibility and scalability of the platform. It fits what we need today and where we want to go with automation. With any new product, you expect some complexity, but we were able to install and test the equipment and bring services online in about two weeks. That time to market gave us real confidence in the platform. Smartoptics is always supportive and easy to reach, and it's clear they share our focus on making connectivity reliable, predictable and easier to deliver at scale," says Joe Fasone, CEO of Pilot.
A key advantage for Pilot is the compact footprint of the Smartoptics solution in space-constrained points of presence. With Smartoptics DCP-R ROADMs and a DCP -2 transponder chassis, Pilot can deploy a customer circuit using only 2RU. This enables higher-capacity services in sites where space would otherwise limit expansion and has supported Pilot's transition to 400G across its IP backbone.
"Pilot is building a more automated and resilient service model to support enterprise connectivity in one of the world's most demanding metro markets. With SoSmart, they gain greater visibility across the network and a structured way to plan and activate services, enabling automation while maintaining the reliability enterprise customers expect. This project further strengthens Smartoptics' growing momentum in the U.S. market," says Magnus Grenfeldt, CEO, Smartoptics.
For more information please contact: Magnus Grenfeldt CEO Smartoptics +46 73-366 88 77 E-mail: magnus.grenfeldt@smartoptics.com
About Smartoptics Smartoptics provides innovative optical networking solutions and devices for the new era of open networking. Our customer base includes thousands of enterprises, governments, cloud providers, Internet exchanges as well as cable and telecom operators. We have an open networking approach in everything we do which allows our customers to break unwanted vendor lock-in, remain flexible and minimize costs. Our solutions are used in metro and regional network applications that increasingly rely on data center services and specifications. Smartoptics is a Scandinavian company founded in 2006. We partner with leading technology and network solution providers such as Brocade, Cisco and Dell and have a global reach through more than 100 business partners. For additional information about Smartoptics, please visit smartoptics.com (https://www.smartoptics.com/)
About Pilot Fiber Pilot Fiber delivers enterprise-grade connectivity to businesses across the New York metro area through complete network ownership and in-house operational expertise. Since 2014, the company has built a network of 300+ miles of modern fiber infrastructure throughout New York City, serving 3,500+ businesses across 1,000+ buildings with a full suite of services: Dedicated Internet Access, Ethernet Transport, Dark Fiber, Wavelength, and IP Transit. Pilot's end-to-end ownership model delivers 5-15 day installations in on-net buildings versus the industry standard of 30-90 days-with transparent pricing, 24/7 access to knowledgeable support, and no contracts required. Learn more at pilotfiber.com