• Technical Conference:  30 March – 03 April 2025
  • Exhibition: 01 – 03 April 2025
  • Moscone Center, San Francisco, California, USA

OFC Blog

Exhibits Wonderland Set to Roll at OFC/NFOEC 2012

By C. David Chaffee, Founder and CEO, Chaffee Fiber Optics | Posted: 27 February 2012

The first time I ever stepped onto an OFC exhibits floor it was a kind of wonderland experience. It was right after the keynotes many years ago and there is always a rush of energy as the exhibits area opens for the first time. Here were companies I had been writing about and all were present and available to talk, explain themselves, put their best foot forward, and provide insights into where the industry and technology we shared were going.

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Optical Industry – Is the glass half full or half empty?

By Ross Saunders | Posted: 24 February 2012

The growth fundamentals of our industry are strong. The multiplicative drivers of increasing broadband penetration, demand for streaming video services and Broadband on the Go will all help drive growth of the Internet. So why are we still so nervous?

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Next Generation 100G Ethernet Review

By Lisa Huff, Discerning Analytics | Posted: 24 February 2012

Ever since the 40/100G Ethernet standard was completed in 2009, the IEEE standards group has been continuing to refine it.  While the original standard covers the minimum requirements, end users have indicated two areas for enhancement:

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OFC/NFOEC 2012: Where the Global Fiber Industry Gets Updated

By C. David Chaffee, Founder and CEO, Chaffee Fiber Optics | Posted: 21 February 2012

For Vincent O’Byrne, director of wireline access technologies at Verizon, OFCNFOEC 2012 is a place where he can check on the status of fiber-to-the-premise deployments around the world. “I am definitely interested in seeing how everyone else deploys FTTP,” says Vincent. “It is always interesting and it may help us to save on our cost structure going forward.”  You will probably find Vincent at the session on Monday, March 5 on Access System Trials, where there will be speakers from Germany, Japan, Brazil and Korea.

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SDM: Spatial dividing mentality?

By David Nugent | Posted: 21 February 2012

“Attention, everyone. Would those in favour of SDM please form an orderly line on the left. Those in favour of MDM please disperse throughout the room whilst choreographing yourself into patterns of uniquely identifiable shape.”

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The next frontier in Optical Communication is the control plane

By Jim Theodoras | Posted: 15 February 2012

Shiny gold plated laser housings. Gleaming AWG wafers. Rainbow colored ribbon cables. Stuff. There is something exciting (dare I say tantalizing) about seeing new gadgets, and being the first to see, touch, and feel them. It always seems much of the buzz at #OFCNFOEC each year centers on the tangible. XFPs, QSFPs, CFPs, TOSA's, ROSA's, ribbon cables, etc. Yet, this year, I challenge attendees to resist their natural tendencies honed over centuries of evolution, and to look beyond mere devices.

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40/100G in Data Communications Networks

By Lisa Huff, Discerning Analytics | Posted: 13 February 2012

We have been talking about 40G for more than 10 years now in telecommunications networks, but just for about three years for datacom ones. The first components were shown at OFC/NFOEC 2009, but we have yet to see them used in “real-world” networks. This is starting to change. Many early adopters such as Google, Facebook and the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AIX) are now deploying switches and routers that have 40 and 100G ports

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New, Challenging Demands on Optical Transport an OFCNFOEC 2012 Focus

By C. David Chaffee, Founder and CEO, Chaffee Fiber Optics | Posted: 13 February 2012

When optical is the only transmission medium that can stay ahead of the accelerating global demand for broadband, there are going to be new challenges. This is an exciting theme that is being explored at OFCNFOEC 2012.

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When the Service Providers Talk at OFCNFOEC, The Vendors Listen

By C. David Chaffee, Founder and CEO, Chaffee Fiber Optics | Posted: 3 February 2012

The service providers sit atop the optical transport food chain. While these days carriers come in a variety of stripes and guises, the service providers are still the big boys with the most wampum--and the system and components vendors play off their lead.

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Environmental photonics: Is the glass always greener?

By David Nugent | Posted: 27 January 2012

OFC / NFOEC 2012 will host a great programme on Green Photonics. With sessions designed to stimulate discussion amongst delegates, permit me to contribute my own thoughts to the debate.

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The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC)  or its sponsors.