ECOC Reporter's Notebook -- Day 1

The Reporter's Notebook returns, this time for ECOC in Vienna. Check back regularly, as I'll be adding to the notebook as the day progresses. (Twitter? Who needs Twitter?)

[3:30 PM CET] Skipped opening address by George Gilder, based on first experience hearing him speak at this year's Executive Forum. Apparently, he is a true oracle -- because, without a high priestess to interpret his pronouncements, I couldn't follow what he was saying. Went to exhibit floor instead, where 85% of the vendors were still setting up their booths...u2t had its act together, which featured an integrated 43G DPSK receiver demo with two devices, from Kylia and Optoplex, respectively. u2t supplies the amplifier, photodiode, and related technology, and their opto customers add the delay line interferometer, etc. A lot of this work ends up being custom, they tell me; they have several such projects underway. Meanwhile, they're looking at integrated 40G DQPSK receivers, since the technology requirement is doubled. While a fully integrated receiver would be ideal, they may offer integrated versions of the two main parts as an initial, interim step. Oh -- and then there's the MSA-compliant 100G receiver prototype...Molex featured a connector with an integrated SFP, a relatively old offering that may find applications in LTE equipment. The arrangement removes the SFP cage from the PCB, enabling space savings as well as more flexibility in terms of where the interface can be located. The company also is finding success with its I-Pass connector technology. Standardized by the InfiniBand community, the I-Pass also shows promise for CXP applications, the source at the stand believes. He added that he sees the CXP significantly eating into the market for QSFP devices....Speaking of parallel interfaces, MergeOptics is going into parallel applications in a big way, particularly active optical cables (AOCs). These include 120G cables using both CXPs (featuring the I-Pass technology) and QSFPs. Company CEO Dag Neumeuer says that business is up 30% to 40% from last year, due primarily to the AOCs. Neumeuer sees QSFPs eroding demand for SFP+ devices (apparently before QSFPs give way to CXPs, if you follow Molex's thinking). MergeOptics has parallel products for the consumer space on the drawing board as well, Neumeuer hinted...JGR Services was showing off a pair of custom-built products they hope have wider appeal. They built the Functional Modular Platform, an eight-slot modular test platform, for Alcatel-Lucent for systems test. Meanwhile, they built a field-level backreflection measurement platform with 72 ports for AT&T...

[5:00 PM CET] Exhbition closing down. After slow start, attendance picked up dramatically this afternoon...RED-C Networks reports increasing interest in hybrid Raman/EDFA amplifiers with uptick in 40G deployments. Raman acts as a pre-amp, the EDFA as a booster...CoreOptics offering 40G SerDes so that Sierra Monolithics finally has some competition. Also debuted second-generation 40G VSR transponder. But the major source of conversation was the use of coherent detection for 40G applications. More on this to come separately...NeoPhotonics showing off coherent mixer (shipping for 40G applications but applicable to 100G) and second-gen DQPSK demodulator. By reducing birefringence problems with their PLC-based approach, they feel the new DQPSK demodulator equals the performance of free-space-based demodulators and outshine them in all other aspects. Meanwhile, they acknowledge that customers will want to see detectors and TIAs integrated into the mixer, and they're working on it...ADVA Optical Networking's 100G priorities, according to CTO Christoph Glingener, in descending order of importance (but increasing order of cost): four wavelengths of 28G, their DPSK-3ASK modulation format, and the OIF's 2Pol-QPSK with coherent detection. It's the cost aspect that has set these priorities, he says. Meanwhile, he says the company's push into WDM-PON has netted three trials so far. He notes that their implementation of WDM-PON technology, which is targeted at metro apps such as wireless backhaul, can be ring-based as well as tree or point-to-point. The company is pondering offering a residential version in the next few years. Finally, he also see ADVA targeting cloud computing applications via its FSP 3000...