PODCAST: Ethernet Alliance on reaching common ground as AI reshapes Ethernet
The Ethernet Alliance held its Technology Exploration Forum (TEF 2026), which focused on the intersection of Ethernet and artificial intelligence (AI), titled The AI Future: Ethernet, on October 7–8, 2026, at the Hyatt Centric Mountain View in Mountain View, Calif.
Designed for engineers, architects, standards developers, and technologists, the program spanned the networking stack, covering IEEE 802.3 activities, high-speed signaling, optical infrastructure and packaging, coherent Ethernet, and network testing.
Ethernet will remain a dominant technology. Industry analysts now project that cumulative Ethernet switching spend over the next five years will surge to half a trillion dollars. After doubling in 2024 and rising almost 90% in 2025, LightCounting said in a recent report it “expected a moderation in the market growth rate for 2026, but the first 9 months of the year derailed those projections.”
In this podcast, we recently caught up with key experts in Ethernet--John D’Ambrosia, Chair Emeritus of the Ethernet Alliance and David Rodgers, President & Events & Conferences Committee Chair for the Ethernet Alliance—who talked about the recent Ethernet Alliance TEF Forum as well as industry trends shaping the future of the nearly 55-year-old technology.
Here’s a timeline of the podcast:
Opening/intro | 0:03
Overview of the TEF 2026 event | 1:06
D’Ambrosia and Rogers run through the highlights of the Ethernet Alliance’s key networking event.
AI’s growing role | 3:38
How AI is reshaping the evolution of Ethernet.
Data center growth | 7:57
D’Ambrosia and Rogers address how Ethernet supports the scale-up, scale-out, and scale-across concepts.
Emerging technologies | 15:49
How technologies like Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) can deliver the best performance in a timely, cost-efficient way.
TEF show highlighted emerging speed profiles | 21:58
Ethernet Alliance is addressing how to raise capacity and density.
Power and cooling | 29:22
How other industry-vertical companies like Gates, which makes hydraulic systems for cars, are coming together to create new solutions for data centers.
Final thoughts/Closing | 34:20
D’Ambrosia and Rogers provide their final thoughts and close out the podcast.
Meet our guests:
John D’Ambrosia, Chair Emeritus of the Ethernet Alliance
John D’Ambrosia is a Distinguished Engineer with the Datacom Standards Research team at Futurewei Technologies, a U.S. subsidiary of Huawei. John has over 25 years of experience supporting standards development. John currently chairs the IEEE P802.3dj 200 Gb/s, 400 Gbps, 800 Gbps, and 1.6 Tbps Task Force. Previously, John chaired the IEEE 802.3 Task Forces that developed 40 GbE and 100 GbE, 200 & 400 GbE, and 800 GbE. He also chaired other IEEE 802.3 task forces, including the IEEE 802.3 New Ethernet Applications Ad hoc. John is also a member of the IEEE 802 LAN / MAN Standards Committee and is an IEEE Senior Member. In addition to his multiple roles in IEEE 802, John co-founded the Ethernet Alliance and served as Chairman from 2011 to 2019. John served as an advisor to the European Photonics Industry Consortium from 2019 to 2022. His previous work experience includes Dell, Force10 Networks, and Tyco Electronics.
And
David Rodgers, President & Events & Conferences Committee Chair for the Ethernet Alliance
David J. Rodgers is a 35+ years industry professional, primarily focused on the Test and Measurement market. His experience includes a strong background in business and program management and in developing serial protocol test and measurement solutions. He has wide-ranging serial communications protocol and interconnect validation experience, most recently in Ethernet network and Fiber Channel fabric solutions, where he has defined, designed, deployed, and marketed a broad range of high-speed serial analysis test and measurement products. He currently represents EXFO for High-Speed electro-optical Test Technologies, including Ethernet and Fiber Channel, in various industry protocol groups, including the IEEE and T11 standards bodies, the Ethernet Alliance, and the Fiber Channel Industry Association. He is an original member of the USB Implementers Forum and a pioneer marketer of USB protocol analyzers.
About the Podcast
In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address key issues affecting the optical and broadband industries. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and click on our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com/.
About the Author
Sean BuckleySean Buckley
Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove.
