Author: Babak Samimi

As the optical industry gathers to talk about the future of optical networking at OFC 2014 this week, Acacia Communications and PMC announced a major milestone for the 100G OTN ecosystem.

We’ve achieved successful interoperability between our DIGI 120G OTN Processor and Acacia’s AC100 100G Coherent module, which is important step to show that the ecosystem is ready for the 100G transition.

According to Cisco, big data continues to fuel traffic growth of more than 60% per year in metro networks. As a result, service providers are looking for ways to cost effectively increase optical network capacity. 100G Coherent technology allows transmission of 100Gb/s per lambda over existing fiber plant previously installed for 10G, unlocking a ten-fold increase in fiber capacity and eliminating the need for new fiber.

To make 100G truly economical, networks must be architected to efficiently utilize this additional capacity. OTN switching, enabled by our DIGI 120G, is optimal for filling 100G pipes because it enables efficient aggregation of diverse services and protocols over a single link.

PMC and Acacia are ensuring that the ecosystem is ready to support this transition, by addressing both the technology needs and changing the cost paradigm of 100G connectivity, Carriers can now drive mass volume deployment of 100G OTN connectivity in networks world-wide.