It's list season among technology sites (heck, every information site), and we're apparently helpless in the face of such significant peer pressure. The following 10 stories received the most views in 2017. A quick glance illustrates an ongoing interest in M&A, optical transceiver technology, and the odd scandal or two. (So we'll do our best to find more odd scandals in the coming year.)
The Top 10:
10. Surveying the New Optical Form Factors for 400 Gigabit Ethernet
The IEEE P802.3bs standards-development project defined 400GbE transmission for aggregation and high-bandwidth interconnect in an array of applications. With a new era of Ethernet innovation underway in 2017, an unprecedented range of standardization efforts was simultaneously underway within the IEEE 802.3 working groups.
9. ADVA to buy MRV Communications for $69 million
German company ADVA Optical Networking acquired fellow optical transport and Carrier Ethernet system developer and software provider MRV Communications after offering $10.00 for each share of MRV's outstanding common stock (the equivalent of an aggregate price of $69 million).
8. NG-PON2 tunable transceiver work shows signs of progress
ADTRAN, Calix, Nokia, Huawei, and other systems houses reported substantial progress on optical line terminals (OLTs) for NG-PON2 applications. How and when the tunable transceiver at the customer premises optical network terminal (ONT) will hit both performance and cost targets remains unknown. Will 2018 be the year the mystery is solved?
7.Sea-Me-We 3 submarine cable suffers break
Vocus confirmed a break in the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 3 (Sea-Me-We 3) submarine cable between Perth and Singapore in August. As 2017 came to a close, Vocus confirmed that the submarine cable was down for the second time in four months.
6. Xtera emerges from bankruptcy with new ownership
Private equity investment firm H.I.G. Capital returned to the fiber-optics game with its acquisition of the assets of Xtera Communications, an optical transport systems company that filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2016.
5.Infinera plans restructuring
With Infinera's report of its third quarter 2017 numbers, demonstrating both GAAP and non-GAAP net losses, came its announcement of a restructuring initiative that meant layoffs, product and program "rationalization," and the close of an R&D facility.
4. Ciena and the wandering WaveLogic Ai
Big news came out of OFC 2017, including Ciena's announcement that it would supply its WaveLogic Ai coherent chipset (or "coherent modem") to optical module vendors. From the exhibit floor to the press room, it was the semi-official OFC conversation starter.
3.Acacia Communications reveals AC400, CFP optical transceiver quality issue
Acacia Communications revealed that it had discovered and addressed "a quality issue" that affected an unspecified percentage of the approximately 1,300 AC400 FLEX optical transceivers and 5,000 CFP optical modules manufactured at one of its three contract manufacturers over a period of approximately four months. As Acacia doesn't believe optical modules currently being produced at the facility suffer from the issue, 2018 is looking up for the company.
2.2017 Lightwave Innovation Reviews Elite Scores
Lightwave invited technology developers to submit products for review by our independent panel of judges for our optical communications technology recognition program. Winners in each category were announced during OFC 2017, and the results indicated that innovation continues to be found across the fiber-optic communications landscape. Now in its fifth year, the Lightwave Innovation Reviews program will be recognizing technology developers who are demonstrating excellence in serving the optical networking community at OFC 2018.
And coming in at Number 1…
Verizon to sell cloud and managed hosting service to IBM
In May, Verizon agreed to sell its cloud and managed hosting service to IBM. The two companies also agreed to work on what Verizon Enterprise Solutions senior vice president and group president George Fischer termed "a number of strategic initiatives involving networking and cloud services." The agreement proved to be a great opportunity for Verizon, and created quite a buzz among Lightwave readers.
That's our 2017 wrap-up! Here's wishing you happiness and innovation in 2018!