Optical Communications

UKTIN is excited to announce that recruitment has opened today for the Chair positions for our eight Special Interest Groups.

Semiconductor solutions firm Marvell has agreed to acquire Celestial AI, which makes an optical interconnect technology platform for AI computing called Photonic Fabric.

Photo Credit: Nathan Pitt - University of Cambridge

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced Fastnet, a new transatlantic subsea fibre-optic cable system linking Maryland, USA, and County Cork, Ireland.

Fastnet, which is expected to be operational in 2028, has been designed to improve network resilience by adding a new, independent data route across the Atlantic.

Finnish vendor reports double-digit adjusted net sales growth of 12% y-o-y, but profit for the period dropped 54% as CEO insists vendor still on track to meet 2025 fiscal outlook.

Japanese telco SoftBank has joined a consortium that will develop and test several spaced-based optical wireless applications.

• Nscale selects Nokia as a preferred networking partner for global AI-ready data center build-out.
• Nokia joins other investors in Nscale’s Series B investment round to advance AI infrastructure globally.
• Nokia and Nscale to jointly drive innovation in the networking stack used in AI c

Leading space solutions company will use optical ground stations to deliver faster, more secure data from space

A survey put together by Ciena and Heavy Reading reveals only 16% of surveyed telcos believe their optical networks are ‘very ready’ for AI.

• Japan’s NEC and Toshiba are two of the leading lights in the quantum security sector
• They are claiming a quantum key distribution (QKD) ‘world first’
• The partners multiplexed and generated QKD signals in an all-optical network

In Japan, Toshiba, NEC and the Natio

• Toshiba Europe has announced a breakthrough in quantum communications over standard fibre-optic cable and at normal room temperature
• Simple chip technology replaces complex cryogenics to allow quantum communications over regular telecom infrastructure 
• It has also enabled the fi

NEC Corporation has successfully achieved Japan’s longest terrestrial wireless optical communication (*), or free-space optical (FSO) communication, over a distance of more than 10 km.

• Telco spending on network technology dipped by 11% year on year in 2024, according to research firm Dell’Oro Group
• The only sector that didn’t shrink was fixed broadband equipment 
• Don’t expect a recovery – overall, telco spending on network gear is expected to be flat this year

• Nokia completes acquisition of Infinera to create innovation powerhouse in optical networks, with the scale to power the data center revolution
• Brings together two pioneering leaders in the optical networks market.
• Creates an optical networks powerhouse – underpinned by the cutting-edge research of Nokia Bell Labs – with the

Swedish police investigate suspected sabotage of undersea telecom cables operated by Finnish cable operator Cinia at the Baltic Sea.

Spanish operator group Telefónica has set up a secure comms link between two hospitals in Madrid, encrypting it using a quantum key distribution (QKD) system.

Spotlight on 5G is back! From 3-6 March, we’ll bring you comprehensive, multimedia coverage of the hottest industry news, game-changing announcements, cutting-edge solutions, and groundbreaking product launches that take place at MWC25.

Japan's NTT claims to have made a breakthrough that could herald a new era in high-capacity backbone networking.

IQ Fiber, a provider of 100% fibre-optic internet, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ThinkBig Networks, a Maryland-based fibre-optic internet provider.

Where technology, policy and commerce converge

To ensure that SMEs have a front-row seat to telecoms standards making, our Standards Champion, Andy Reid, attends key standards meetings to observe, participate in conversations and report back on key themes and discussion points.

Here, Reid shares his reflections on the recent ECOC event in Frankfurt.

• Transatlantic partnership extends potential for capacity, speed and latency while reducing power usage on popular Europe/US route.
• Service trial spanned 8500km subsea and terrestrial route over live production network.
• 800GbE can support advanced network applications like AI data center networking, content delive

• BT and Toshiba have already deployed a quantum-safe metro network in the London area
• Now they have teamed up with datacentre operator Equinix
• Its facilities in Canary Wharf, London, and Slough will be connected by data links protected using quantum key distribution