Ciena Corporation has released a comprehensive report in collaboration with Heavy Reading, now part of Omdia, examining the impact of AI applications and traffic growth on communication service providers' (CSPs) networks. The analysis reveals that AI is poised to become a significant driver of both metro and long-haul network traffic, with 29% of CSPs anticipating AI will account for more than half of long-haul traffic in the next three years. However, only 16% of optical networks are currently "very ready" to handle AI demands. The survey highlights that CSPs expect a broader role in AI connectivity, particularly for enterprise customers, with high-bandwidth wavelength services projected to grow significantly. Half of the respondents identified these services as having the highest growth potential due to AI. Conversely, only 25% foresee dark fiber experiencing the most growth. Additionally, 74% of CSPs predict enterprise customers will lead traffic growth over the next three years, surpassing hyperscalers and cloud providers. Despite the anticipated growth, CSPs face challenges such as capital expenditure constraints, business strategies, and network management. The report underscores the need for CSPs to address these obstacles to capitalize on the AI-driven traffic surge effectively.