Charting the ECOC 2026 show
In this special coverage page, we’re covering this year’s ECOC 2026 trade show in Malaga, Spain.
As Europe's largest optical communications exhibition, ECOC is held each September in a different European city. The event has become a key meeting place for decision-makers across the fiber optic communications technology industry.
Celebrating its 30th year, the exhibition attracts over 7,000 decision-makers from all around the world – bringing together manufacturers, suppliers and service providers to network and gain insights on the latest developments, new products and trends in the industry.
This is a compilation of news and trends from the Fiber Connect 2026 trade show, including show news, events, products, and optical networking trends.
ECOC Events
The interactive session, which will feature voices from three key vendors, including Lumentum, Marvell and Nokia, will address how emerging optical networking technologies are creating new possibilities for what’s inside the data center.
Videos
Lightwave will host its AI Fabric: Scaling the Networks Behind Tomorrow's AI Factories roundtable on September 23 during the ECOC 2026. In other news, TDS remains bullish about fiber broadband and Ayar scores new funding. Sean Buckley, Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave, breaks it down in this latest Friday Five video.
Optical Networking Funding
The optical vendor will use the additional capital to scale co-packaged optics (CPO) beyond rack configurations.
Industry Trends
With its annual call for papers, OFC 2027 gives researchers an opportunity to bring them directly into the technical conversation shaping the future of optical communications.
Dell'Oro noted that AI back-end network switch sales have surpassed front-end networks for the first time in the second quarter.
