• A Hybrid Conference – In-Person and Virtual Presentations
  • Technical Conference:  24 – 28 March 2024
  • Exhibition: 26 – 28 March 2024
  • San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA
PRESS RELEASE

21 February 2019

Contact:
Leah Wilkinson Wilkinson + Associates for OFC 703-907-0010 leah@wilkinson.associates

OFC 2019 to Spotlight Latest Optical Innovations for 5G Networks

SAN DIEGO — With the exponential increase in connected devices anticipated in the coming decades, optical innovations to support the infrastructure for 5G networks are vital. The current prediction, according to Statista, is 75.4 billion connected devices by 2025 including both Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices.

Leading business and technical experts and exhibiting companies at OFC 2019, 3-7 March 2019 in San Diego, California, U.S.A., will discuss and demonstrate how the optical communications supply chain is ready for this demand.

“With the potential of 5G to bring about new markets, applications and verticals, one question on the minds of many as we head into OFC this year is, ‘how must optical networks adapt and change to meet the capacity and performance requirements of 5G?’", said Laurent Schares, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, NY, U.S.A., OFC general co-chair. “OFC’s unique blend of business and technical sessions and leading exhibitors creates the ideal atmosphere to discuss and debate solutions for the communications network’s most dynamic challenges.”

Plenary speaker Alex Jinsung Choi, SVP Strategy & Technology Innovation, T-Laboratories Innovation, Deutsche Telekom AG will discuss open innovation in 5G on Tuesday, 5 March. His talk “Towards Open Innovation in 5G” will address how more radical approaches are required by network operators to keep network rollout costs under control. This includes the move away from a classical black box approach to disaggregation, to Open Source Software and Open Hardware, and opening up the closed optical ecosystem.

Business-focused Sessions

This year’s MarketWatch, a three-day series of sessions on the latest application topics and business issues, includes a “Market Projections for Wireline and Wireless Technologies to Support 5G” session. The panel, featuring speakers from Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, ECI Telecom, Huawei, Intel Corp., MEF Forum and NGS Advanced Technologies, will discuss both wired and wireless 5G technologies, their respective ecosystems and market projections.

Speakers from leading-edge operators around the world, including British Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Verizon Communications and Zayo will participate in a panel on “5G Applications and Networks: Real-world Operator Case Studies” during the Network Operator Summit, Wednesday, 6 March. During the session, operators that are conducting trials and commercializing the first 5G applications and services regions will share their plans, perspectives and lessons learned.

Symposia

5G will be at the center of a special Symposia - 5G Trials, Pilots, and Demonstrations – on Monday, 4 March. The symposia, including speakers from AT&T, C-DOT, COSMOS-PAWR., Ericsson, Google, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Toyota InfoTechnology Center, University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo and ZTE, will provide an update on the latest progress of 5G trials, pilots and demonstrations. Participants will also present use-case scenarios involving a wide range of relevant vertical sectors, e.g., mobile broadband access, connected transport, digital health, smart cities/venues and creative media.

Exhibitors

More than 700 companies will exhibit at OFC 2019, many of them showcasing innovations that directly address developments targeting 5G and future mobile communication networks.

Technical Sessions

A variety of technical sessions will also focus on 5G innovations. Topics ranging from 5G trial service in 28 GHz millimeter wave to cloud-based 5G fronthaul to solutions for traffic prediction for 5G transport Network, will be discussed during the conference.  Register here for OFC’s premier technical conference.

ATTENDEE REGISTRATION: Attendees may register by visiting ofcconference.org. Register for the Full Conference or Exhibits Pass Plus, which provides free admittance to the Plenary Session and the Exhibit Hall. Learn more.

MEDIA REGISTRATION: Media/analyst registration for OFC 2019 can be accessed online. Further information is available on the event website at OFC, including travel details.

 
About OFC
The Optical Fiber Conference and Exhibition (OFC) is the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. For more than 40 years, OFC has drawn attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections and move business forward.
 
OFC includes dynamic business programming, an exhibition of more than 700 companies, and high impact peer-reviewed research that, combined, showcase the trends and pulse of the entire optical networking and communications industry. OFC is managed by The Optical Society (OSA) and co-sponsored by OSA, the IEEE Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc), and the IEEE Photonics Society. OFC 2019 will be held from 3-7 March 2019 at the San Diego Convention Center, California, USA. Follow @OFCConference, learn more at OFC Community LinkedIn, and watch highlights on OFC YouTube.