Demand for optical fibre is creating a worldwide shortage with manufacturers scrambling to bring more production capacity on line.
The latest announcement comes from Japanese electronics giant Furukawa Electric, which plans to nearly double its 2016 optical fibre manufacturing capacity by 2019 and to increase its optical cable manufacturing capacity through the operations of OFS, its wholly owned subsidiary.
Coherent 400G technology will start to ramp this year and account for almost one quarter of all deployed optical transport capacity in 2020. That’s the conclusion of a new report from networking component and equipment market research firm, Cignal AI.
The ‘Optical Applications Report’ report also represents the industry’s first comprehensive analysis measuring the anticipated growth of coherent 400G WDM, according to Andrew Schmitt, lead analyst for Cignal AI.
The desire for faster data centre optics appears to be outpacing the standards process. As a result, 22 companies have joined forces to speed up the development of 100Gb/s serial optical interfaces.
The 100G Lambda multi-source agreement (MSA) group is developing specifications for optical interfaces based on 100Gb/s per wavelength over duplex singlemode fibre. These new optical specifications are targeting 100 and 400 Gigabit Ethernet applications in the next-generation of networking equipment.
Vodafone plans to invest about €2 billion over the next four years to provide around 13.7 million new gigabit broadband connections to homes and businesses in Germany, its biggest European market.
Under the Gigabit Investment Plan, Vodafone Germany will target 100,000 companies in around 2,000 business parks, one million homes in rural areas, and 12.6 million cable customers.
Network test specialist EXFO has signed an agreement to acquire Yenista Optics for an undisclosed sum. The deal is subject to a number of conditions to be completed before closing.
Yenista Optics, a privately held company based in Lannion, France, supplies advanced optical test equipment for the R&D and manufacturing markets. Its product portfolio includes benchtop optical spectrum analysers, tunable lasers, tunable filters and passive optical component test systems for network equipment manufacturers and optical component vendors.
Chinese optoelectronics manufacturer Accelink Technologies has introduced a 1550nm 100Gb/s PSM4 transceiver based on Mellanox’s low-power, silicon photonics optical engine. This module format serves the growing demand from hyperscale and cloud data centre providers for parallel singlemode optics within data centres.
Optical components developer Finisar has announced that chairman and chief executive officer Jerry Rawls has informed the board of directors that he intends to retire as CEO of the company by the end of calendar year 2018.
The board of directors will conduct a search to identify Mr. Rawls' successor and will consider internal and external candidates for the job.
Scotland-based blown fibre specialist Emtelle has acquired German duct manufacturer Moore GmbH. The acquisition is part of a €30 million investment by Emtelle to expand its overall manufacturing capacity and presence in Europe.
Network test specialist EXFO hopes to expand its service assurance activities with the eventual acquisition of French mobile analytics firm Astellia. The pair have signed agreements for EXFO to acquire a 33.1 per cent equity stake in Astellia, worth €8.6 million, with plans to acquire the remaining equity.
Johns Hopkins University reports that a team of engineers from the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has successfully demonstrated a high-bandwidth, free-space optical (FSO) communications system between two moving ships, proving that FSO technology can operate in maritime conditions. The Lab demonstrated its latest compact form factor system during the 2017 Trident Warrior Exercise, an annual event where sailors try out the latest innovations in naval warfare systems.
Despite concerns from component makers, China’s optical hardware market continues to grow, according to Cignal AI, a networking component and equipment market research firm. In fact, optical revenue in China is up 13 per cent for the first half of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, the firm states in its second quarter Optical Hardware Report.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) and six partners have established a new world record of 118.5Tb/s for the largest transmission capacity achieved over an optical fibre of standard dimensions.
Though the optical fibre had the same diameter as standard singlemode fibre, its structure was not standard. The design contained four cores (light paths) running along the fibre’s length.
Oleg Khaykin, CEO of Viavi Solutions, speaks candidly to Fibre Systems about how to compete in the challenging world of communications test and measurement
Hao Dong describes how innovative optical fibres and cabling could provide substantial benefits for connecting data centres across a wide range of distances
Collaborative initiatives are seeking to bridge the gap between small- and large-scale production of photonic integrated circuits, finds Andy Extance
Optical networks are playing an increasingly important role in the distribution of precise timing signals and synchronisation with sub-microsecond accuracy. Michael Ritter explains