Fibre Systems magazine makes its return with the Spring 2026 issue, distributed at OFC 2026 in Los Angeles. After a period away from print, the publication comes back swinging – and lands squarely in the middle of the most turbulent, exciting, and frankly exhausting period optical communications has seen in years. Some comebacks are well-timed. This is one of them.
As any good comeback story goes, the hiatus only made the return more meaningful. AI infrastructure has spent the intervening period quietly (and then not so quietly) rewriting the rules for optical networks, and Fibre Systems is here to make sense of it all. Think of this issue as the reunion tour – familiar faces, bigger ambitions, and a setlist built entirely for the moment.
This issue, distributed at OFC 2026, explores the full spectrum of change reshaping the optical communications landscape. From data centre optics and submarine networks to FTTH deployment strategies and the growing diversity of fibre operators worldwide, the Spring 2026 edition captures an industry in transformation.
The headliner: data centre optics
No comeback would be complete without a showstopper, and the lead feature delivers. 800G and beyond: The data centre optics revolution examines how AI workloads are driving the transition from 800G to 1.6T transceivers, where silicon photonics fits into the picture, and whether co-packaged optics – long talked about in hushed tones at conference panels – can finally solve the power density crisis that is keeping data centre operators up at night.
The feature draws on contributions from Marvell, Nokia, Scintil Photonics, VIAVI Solutions, Ayar Labs, and Lumentum. Six voices, one very big question: is the industry keeping pace with the demands being placed on it? Spoiler: it is trying very hard.
Heading to Los Angeles
This issue arrives just in time for OFC 2026, and the preview makes clear why the world's largest optical communications conference is drawing a particularly eager crowd this year.
AI infrastructure demands are taking centre stage, with cloud computing, hyperscale data centres, and machine learning workloads pushing networks to limits that would have seemed fanciful just a few years ago.
OFC has always been the place where the industry takes stock of where it actually is, versus where it thought it would be. This year, that conversation promises to be a lively one on the first leg of our comeback tour.
From submarine cables to FTTH
For those who prefer their optical communications with a side of deep-sea drama, the submarine networks feature explores how cable systems are evolving to meet capacity demands driven by hyperscaler investment – new wavelength advances, new routes, and a quiet revolution happening several kilometres below the surface.
With FTTH Conference Europe heading to London and Fiber Connect celebrating the Fiber Broadband Association's 25th anniversary, both continents are wrestling with the same fundamental challenge: how do you build the infrastructure of the future whilst keeping the lights on today?
Ecosystem diversity
Perhaps the most quietly significant theme running through this issue is just how much the industry has grown up – and grown out. It is no longer a conversation among traditional telcos.
Electric cooperatives, private equity-backed operators, and rural providers from across the globe are now part of the ecosystem, deploying fibre in service of precision agriculture, telehealth, and giving rural communities a genuine stake in the digital future. As Portway puts it in her editorial, it is no longer just about 'speeds and feeds'. It rarely was, but now the industry seems ready to say so out loud.
Back on the show floor
Editor Keely Portway (pictured, left) and Publisher Kris Collins (pictured, right) will both be at OFC throughout the show. If you have insights to share, developments to discuss, or simply want to welcome a magazine back to where it belongs, they would love to hear from you.
Here's to the comeback. It's good to be back in the light.
All features from the Spring 2026 issue are available online at www.fibre-systems.com.