As the final day of ECOC 2018 got underway, discussions centred around 5G, the role of data centres and optical transport readiness, closing out another successful year of the exhibition and the Market Focus.

First-time exhibitor and newly formed 100G Lambda Multisource Agreement (MSA) Group, made its ECOC debut, surrounded on its stand by several of its key promoter and contributing companies, also exhibiting in Rome. With recent specifications for data centres being discussed at the stand and significant developments in the industry anticipated in the very near future, the 100G Lambda MSA’s appearance looks set to be a regular addition to the optical trade show calendar.

“This is the first time for us at ECOC representing the 100G Lambda MSA,” said Ed Ulrichs, speaking on behalf of the 100G Lambda MSA. “As advances continue in data centres at a rapid rate there will be an even greater need for us to come together to exhibit in this way, especially surrounded by our partners and contributors.”

Over at Market Focus, the first of the four morning speakers took to the stage to define three segments of the optical components market, a current area of focus for Ovum. Market data for telecom, datacom and access segments were central to Ovum Principal Analyst Lisa Huff’s presentation, with a focus on how optics will enable 5G wireless, data centre, high-speed telecom and PON.

Market Focus attendees also enjoyed hearing BT’s take on optical metro networks in a 5G world, with Andrew Lord, Head of Optical Networks at BT, stressing the need for edge data centres and explaining why disaggregation is required. Rounding up the morning were presentations given by Finisar and Adva, both of which looked to the future; Finisar explored pluggability for multi-Tb/s data centre interconnects and Adva studied what’s next for coherent technologies.

The final five Market Focus sessions featured insightful presentations from speakers representing global giants Cisco, Huawei, NTT, China Mobile and CESNET. Cisco broached a current hot topic in telecoms – networking and transport infrastructure – with Mauro Macchi, IP Optical Data Center Business Development, providing analysis of optical transport readiness for 400/600Gbs. China Mobile shifted the crowd’s attention towards Ultra High Definition (UHD) live video, addressing packet loss and explaining how its real-world network trials are helping combat jitter.

Second-time exhibitor at ECOC, Srico, a specialist in the use of electro-optics, non-linear optics and ferroelectrical materials to create innovative optical chip-based products, has experienced a busy few days, with high numbers of visitors coming to its stand each day.

“We have been so pleased with how well things have gone for us here in Rome,” said Judith C. Sriram, Vice President at Srico. “What’s been especially impressive has been the well-designed layout of the exhibition hall. We already know that the research and development contacts we seek are here and with the effective stand positioning at the same time we’ve certainly had a productive time here!”

As the sun sets in Rome at the end of another spectacular exhibition, enquiries for next year’s event which will take place in the Irish capital city, Dublin, are already being taken. And, you can still share your post-show success stories on social media by tagging in @ECOC_Exhibition or using #ECOC18 on Instagram and Facebook.

For all the highlights and interviews from this year’s show, keep an eye on the website (https://www.ecocexhibition.com/) and follow the Twitter feed @ECOC_Exhibition. See you next year!