AI and optics: An OFC conversation

An OFC conversation with Adtran's Gareth Spence and consultant Daryl Inniss about the AI opportunity for photonics, click here.   

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ECOC 2023 industry reflections - Final Part

Gazettabyte has been asking industry figures to reflect on the recent ECOC show in Glasgow. The final instalment emphasises coherent technology with contributions from Adtran, Cignal AI, Infinera, Ciena, and Acacia.

The popular Market Focus sessions at ECOC

Jörg-Peter Elbers, head of advanced technology at Adtran

The ECOC 2023 conference and show was a great event. The exhibition floor was busy and offered ample networking opportunities. In turn, the conference and the Market Focus sessions provided information on the latest technologies, products, and developments.

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The status of silicon photonics - an ECOC interview

Daryl Inniss and I being interviewed at ECOC by Adtran's Gareth Spence about the state of silicon photonics.  

 

Click here for the interview.

Fibre to everywhere

For years, passive optical networks (PON) were all about fibre-to-the-premise, particularly fibre-to-the-home. Japan, South Korea, and China led the market with massive PON deployments.

"Now the focus is on fibre-to-everywhere, whether it's a home, a business, a school, a university, an enterprise, a traffic light," says Julie Kunstler, chief analyst, broadband access intelligence at Omdia.

Julie Kunstler

Adoption has also become global. India is one example, a market where the mobile phone has been the predominant broadband source. Now, several million consumers have fibre-based broadband due to a growing Indian middle class requiring the service for work. A similar story is unfolding in Africa.

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ADVA Optical Engines adds bidirectional multiplexing

• ADVA expands its multiplexing modules to include the network edge
• The company is developing optical modules as part of a three-pillar business strategy
• ADVA’s merger with ADTRAN is approaching its conclusion

ADVA has expanded its family of multiplexing optical modules with a 40km bidirectional design for access networks. 

Saeid Aramideh

Until now, ADVA’s three multiplexer optical module products have focussed on IP routing and switching.

The multiplexing modules combine lower-speed optical interfaces into a higher-speed port.

The company unveiled its 4-by-10-gigabit MicroMux Edge BiDi, its first multiplexer module for the network edge, at the OFC show held in March in San Diego.

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ADTRAN-ADVA's metro-access play

ADTRAN and ADVA have agreed to merge after a long courtship.

The two CEOs have spoken regularly over the years but several developments spurred them to act.

Tom Stanton, ADTRAN CEO

The merger combines ADTRAN’s expertise in access technologies with ADVA’s metro wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) know-how to create a ‘metro-core-to-door’ company with revenues of $1.2 billion.

As such, the merger promises to double their size and networking skills. Yet the stock market appeared underwhelmed by the announcement, with ADTRAN’s shares down 16% for the rest of the week after the deal was announced. 

Market research analysts, however, are more upbeat.

“ADTRAN and ADVA have a better path forward together than separately,” said John Lively, principal analyst at LightCounting Market Research, in a research note.

The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2022 but only after several hurdles are overcome in what is described as a complex deal.

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Sckipio’s G.fast silicon to enable gigabit services

Sckipio’s newest G.fast broadband chipset family delivers 1.2 gigabits of aggregate bandwidth over 100m of telephone wire.

The start-up’s SCK-23000 chipset family implements the ITU’s G.fast Amendment 3 212a profile. The profile doubles the spectrum used from G.fast from 106MHz to 212MHz, boosting the broadband rates. In contrast, VDSL2 digital subscriber line technology uses 17MHz of spectrum only.

“What the telcos want is gigabit services,” says Michael Weissman, vice president of marketing at Sckipio. “This second-generation [chipset family] allows that.”

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