The exponential rise in global data traffic from cloud computing, IoT, AI, and 5G is straining single‑core optical fiber networks to their physical and economic limits. Multicore fiber (MCF) technology offers a viable path to boost capacity, efficiency, and scalability in the telecom ecosystem. Worldwide field trials have demonstrated MCF’s capabilities, supported by advances in fan‑in/fan‑out devices for backward compatibility, multicore transceivers, connectors, and amplifiers. These developments make MCF attractive for data centers and backbone networks, yet challenges persist. The lack of unified global standards hampers design interoperability and infrastructure integration, while technical hurdles in splicing and fan‑in/fan‑out devices complicate single‑core interconnection. High costs for new components and transitioning from legacy systems further slow adoption. Overcoming these barriers will require coordinated industry action to refine manufacturing, ensure interoperability, and strengthen the business case. This panel convenes experts from industry, academia, and standards bodies to evaluate MCF readiness and chart deployment pathways.
The key questions to address in this panel are:
- Which applications (submarine cables, data centers, metro/backbone) are most ready for MCF adoption?
- How mature are the manufacturing processes for MCFs and related components, and what are the bottlenecks?
- What are the challenges in retrofitting or co-deploying legacy fibers and MCFs?
- What is the business case for MCF versus simply increasing the number of single-core fibers?
- How will MCF adoption reshape the competitive landscape for network operators and vendors?
- What is the current state of global standardization efforts across the product spectrum: fibers, connectors, amplifiers, and measurement equipment?
- How can public-private partnerships, research consortia, and policymakers support the transition?
- What are the next milestones for ecosystem readiness?
- What are the latest results from commercial pilots and large-scale trials/testbeds?
Organizers
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Andrea D'Amico
NEC Laboratories America Inc., United States
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Gustavo Ocampo
Hokkaido University, Japan
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Deepa Venkitesh
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
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Masaki Wada
NTT, Japan
Panelists
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Vincent Ferretti
Corning, United States
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Eduardo Mateo
NEC, Japan
Eduardo Mateo is the Chief Strategy Officer of the Submarine Network Division at NEC, Tokyo. Prior to that, he held a research and development role at NEC Labs America in Princeton, NJ, where he conducted pioneering research in the field of optical communications. He has authored or co-authored over 120 papers and patents in the fields of optical communications and subsea-networks technologies, including a book chapter on subsea fiber optic systems.
He is an executive Committee member of the SubOptic Association and a member of ITU-T The International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience. -
Kazuhide Nakajima
NTT, Japan
Kazuhide Nakajima (Dr. Eng.) joined NTT in 1994, and where he was engaged in research on optical fiber design and related measurement techniques. He is currently a Research Fellow at NTT. Dr. Nakajima has been a Rapporteur of Q5/SG15 of ITU-T since 2009. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Optical Society (OSA), the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) of Japan, and the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP).
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Pascal Pecci
Meta, France
Pascal Pecci is a Global Optical Architect for Meta, overseeing the design, build, and operation of Open Cable submarine systems and introducing new optical technologies in the Meta global network. After 25 years within Alcatel working on terrestrial and subsea projects as a researcher, system designer, product line manager and project manager, he joined at the beginning of 2023 Meta. Pascal has a Ph.D in electrical and optical communication and an engineering diploma from Centrale Mediterrannée (prev. ENSPM).
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Takashi Sasaki
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Japan
Takashi Sasaki (M.E.) graduated Tohoku University, Japan in 1994. Since then, he is with Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., and have been engaged in R&D of optical fibers and optical fiber components. Since 2016, he is with Innovation Core SEI, Inc. (ICS), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric, located in Silicon Valley to promote innovation globally. From 2020 to 2023, he served as a president and CEO of ICS. Since 2023, he has been with R&D of Sumitomo Electric in Japan. Mr. Sasaki is a member of the Optica and served as a D4 committee of OFC from 2011 to 2012 and subcommittee chair in 2013.
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Yu Sun
Google, United States