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Microsoft lobbies against potential ban on Chinese optical networking gear for AI data centers as FCC mulls restricting imports

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Microsoft lobbies against potential ban on Chinese optical networking gear for AI data centers as FCC mulls restricting imports

Microsoft, the tech giant that is building 35 data centers around the U.S. and has plans for 134 more, has reportedly met with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council as the FCC is considering an import ban on Chinese optical transceivers. According to Reuters, the company, alongside the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), is lobbying against the move.

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“It really threatens to arguably grind (the data center rollout) to a halt,” ITI Executive Vice President of Policy and General Counsel John Miller said. He also added, “Those chips, without optical transceivers, literally could just sit there waiting around unutilized until you actually have the transceivers to essentially connect them together,” referring to the AI chips that data centers use.

Optical transceivers are tiny modules plugged into hardware that convert their electrical signals into light signals, allowing data to be transmitted as light pulses across fiber optics. Data centers increasingly use optical transceivers and fiber optics to transmit data between AI GPUs and server racks, as they’re faster, offer lower latency, require less power, and generate less heat compared to traditional copper connections.


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