2017-01-12

Operators on the Fence About Optical Open Line Systems, Study Shows

Following is information and insight from IHS Markit about our 2016 100G+ & ROADM Strategies Global Service Provider Survey.

Our Analysis

With optical industry debates on non-coherent versus coherent and 40G versus 100G technologies now largely resolved, discussions on optical networking are moving into new areas.

The path to 400G and beyond for metro and core applications is becoming increasingly important for efficient network operation as bandwidth demands continue to grow unabated. The adoption of flexible coherent technology and higher-speed wavelengths is driving change into optical line systems. Data center interconnect (DCI) is emerging both as a growth market for optical equipment and as an application that is powering innovation in optical transmission equipment and operations. Optical disaggregation and open line systems (OLS) have also sparked many debates over the course of the past year.

In our latest 100G+ and ROADM service provider survey, we structured our questions to explore the continuing evolution of metro and core optical network technologies and to gain insights into some of the newer areas such as DCI and optical OLS. Highlights from the study follow below.

Select Key Findings for Metro and Core Optical Network Evolution

Select Key Findings for DCI and OLS