28 April 2020
As of this writing, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread with few signs of slowing down; over 2.2 million cases and over 150,000 deaths have been reported so far. Despite this, the OFC conference continued to serve as the preeminent technical exchange for optical communications and networking professionals, with many technical sessions now available for online viewing to those who registered for OFC. In fact, there are some industry analysts who feel that recent events might lead to significantly greater interest in optical communication technologies.
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By David Plant, Jun Shan Wey and Shinji Matsuo, OFC 2020 Technical Program Chairs | Posted: 13 March 2020
After 18 months of planning the OFC 2020 program, we had to rethink how to deliver the program in the two weeks prior to the start of the conference. As the conference drew closer, it became apparent to all of us, the onsite participation at OFC 2020 would be significantly impacted by COVID-19.
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By OFC Communications | Posted: 12 March 2020
David Welch’s remarks looked back at what brought us to this tipping point of globalization. The first demonstration of low-loss fibers and the first room-temperature semiconductor lasers fifty years ago were what led us to today’s world of instant connection. From the life-saving techniques of telemedicine to entertainment like gaming and streaming, data fuels the personal connection pipeline for all of us.
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By LightCounting | Posted: 28 February 2020
The last ten years were incredible for the global optical communications industry. Can this run continue for another ten years? The expectations are very high: 5G, AI, VR, and IoT are the buzz “words” that sum this up. The future is unpredictable, but looking at the past may offer some insights.
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By Stephen Hardy, Editorial Director/Associate Publisher, Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report | Posted: 27 February 2020
This year marks the 50th anniversary of a pair of foundational optical communications milestones: the demonstration of sufficiently low-loss optical fiber and the first lasers that could operate at room temperature. OFC 2020 will mark the occasion in several ways, all under the heading “Celebrating 50 Years of Light-speed Connections.”
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By Andrew Schmitt, Cignal AI | Posted: 25 February 2020
Andrew Schmitt from Cignal AI has compiled a list of what to watch at OFC and what announcements to expect.
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By Woo Jin Ho, Analyst - Semiconductors and Comms Equipment, Bloomberg Intelligence | Posted: 21 February 2020
Optical systems, component and chip makers have used OFC as the platform to make key technology announcements, and OFC 2020 should be no different. While our blog post focuses on the emergence of 800G technologies, other areas of interest for the financial community include 400ZR and silicon photonics, as well as market consolidation and progress on the 5G and fiber deep roll outs. This blog post is based on a Bloomberg Intelligence report published on Bloomberg terminal.
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By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 17 January 2020
The emerging field of quantum information science and technology (QIST), which covers inter-disciplinary topics including communications, computation, metrology, and sensing, will be the subject of a special symposia at the upcoming OFC conference.
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By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 9 October 2019
One of the topics at OFC 2019, which generated the most interest, was the development of 5G mobile technology and the cable/MSO initiative called Fiber Deep. There were 5G programs on the OFC show floor, as well as numerous announcements, product demonstrations, and prominent displays of 5G from hardware, software, and test equipment vendors. In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of the more prominent examples of 5G and related MSO deployments.
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By Casimer DeCusatis | Posted: 21 August 2019
Developments in higher data rates and coherent communication technologies were among the most exciting new developments at OFC 2019. The most important market force driving this technology is the growing need to significantly increase bandwidth between cloud data centers within a campus or metropolitan area network. Such networks require simple topologies (often point-to-point) over distances of 80-100 km (long enough that wavelength multiplexing over single-mode fiber must be employed). To address this need and provide interoperability in coherent dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems, the Optical Internet Forum (OIF) has been developing a new standard called 400ZR for the past few years. In this blog, we’ll take a look at the current status of 400ZR and some of the recent innovations announced at OFC.
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