As the optical industry enters 2024, it faces yet another transition with the advent of coherent pluggable optics. Dell’Oro forecasts the coherent optics market will reach nearly $13 billion by 2027.
Key to this trend is the advent of 400G ZR and ZR+ coherent optics. With 400G ZR coherent optics, a service provider could deliver high-capacity services with less power over 20-30 kilometers. Industry pundits point to 400G ZR+ coherent pluggable to carry data over even longer distances.
Another critical concept is IPoDWDM, which integrates IP routers and network switches in the optical transport network. While IP over DWDM is hardly new, hyperscalers and, increasingly, service providers see its potential to reduce capex by shedding power-hungry platforms. Today, most IPoDWDM systems have been used by hyperscaler data center providers, but industry analyst groups see the potential for service providers with ZR optics.
Citing Geoffrey Moore’s 2014 book Crossing the Chasm, Kyle Hollasch, Analyst, Optical and Packet Transport Hardware for Cignal AI, said that for “IP-over-DWDM to become a permanent part of the optical transport landscape, it must win over the slow-moving and notoriously conservative telcos.”
The Winter issue of Lightwave’s quarterly print magazine will also consider overcoming XGS-PON vendor lock ASE (amplified spontaneous emission) for DWDM systems. Click here to take a look at the issue.
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