Day Three: Wednesday 15th September
Bordeaux ends on a high; next stop Basel!
Eager crowds at the presentation theatres and well-received discussions rounded off a successful return for ECOC to the exhibition halls as this year’s calendar highlight for the European – and global – optical connections industry drew to a close in Bordeaux.
Representing the first experience of face-to-face events for many attendees this year, ECOC Exhibition 2021 was a reminder of what had been sorely missed for too long – and a welcome resumption of the industry’s yearly meeting hub.
Satellite meets optical communications at Market Focus
After accepting the award for Most Innovative Product/Optical Integration on behalf of II-VI for the company’s OIF Type (2) IC-TROSA, Sanjai Parthasarathi was the first speaker of the final day of Market Focus.
Parthasarathi explored how, as we’re increasingly aware of the importance of high-speed connectivity to our lives including in critical applications like telehealth, connecting underserved communities is a priority of the global community and organisations like UNESCO. He identified satellite networks as a promising tool and the expectation of the emerging ‘New Space’ market to leverage Optical Communications innovations and the associated opportunities.
Following presentations came from Intel, Infinera, Hyperlight and OIF on topics ranging from Data Center Optics to the Integrated lithium-niobate electro-optic platform – wrapping up a typically insightful, thought-provoking and popular Market Focus roster.
Product Focus full for final day
Across the exhibition hall at the Product Focus theatre, the agenda for the day was split into two sessions from Infinera and EPIC, respectively. Infinera’s kickstart to the morning was a journey through XR Optics, including its benefits and applications and the perspective of Open XR Forum.
The Product Focus theatre stayed packed for EPIC’s afternoon trip throughout the whole photonics supply chain of Optical Communications. The talk included component design, fabrication, packaging and test, and their deployment, encouraging all participants and speakers to answer the so-called EPIC question: what can you do for the others/what can the others do for you?
Swiss you were here
After a successful return to our much-missed in-person format, we are delighted to announce next year’s host city as Basel, Switzerland. Make sure you return for ECOC Exhibition’s 27th year from 19-21 September 2022 to reconnect and meet up with colleagues, learn about new developments in the optical connections industry, and see the latest products from the world’s leading and innovative companies.
If you haven’t already, you can share your ECOC 2021 experience with us on social media by using the hashtag #ECOC2021 in your posts. Tag us at @ECOC_Exhibition on Twitter and Instagram so we can see what you’ve got up to during the show – we’d love to hear how your experience was.
ECOC Exhibition thanks all of the sponsors, exhibitors, attendees & event staff for their participation and support for making our first year back a reality and making Bordeaux 2021 a successful event. We can’t wait to see you again next year.
Day Two: Tuesday 14th September
Leading industry lights commended at ECOC awards
The overall feeling at Day One of ECOC Exhibition from exhibitors, presenters and attendees alike was an enthusiastic welcome to the return of the in-person event format and its benefits, opportunities and possibilities. The relationships both made and built upon thanks to face-to-face meetings can’t be taken for granted. And the ability to physically demonstrate products from booths and speak to live audiences with presentations has been sorely missed.
Day Two of the 2021 edition of Europe’s largest optical connections delivered all of that and more. The halfway mark of the gathering in Bordeaux of the industry’s biggest names meant that it was time to recognise the significant achievements in advancing the business of optical communications and related activities.
ECOC ‘steers innovation in industry’
Hosted at the Product Focus theatre, the ECOC Industry Awards were presented in front on an anticipating crowd eager to see who would take home the award programme’s second year of trophies. First to accept an award, for the Best Fibre Component Product category, was Lumenisity for the NANF CoreSmart cable.
Michael Lebby was up next on behalf of Lightwave Logic to accept the Optical Integration Award. Other winners included Ciena, Source Photonics and II-VI.
Ciena’s Paulina Gomez said the company “recognizes ECOC as a place for knowledge sharing and cooperation, but also one that steers innovation in our industry.”
Here is the list of ECOC Industry Awards winners in full:
- Optical Transport Award to Ciena for Liquid Spectrum
- Best Fibre Component Product Award to Lumenisity for NANF CoreSmart cable
- Most Innovative Product/Optical Integration Award to II-VI for II-VI OIF Type (2) IC-TROSA
- Optical Integration Award to Lightwave Logic
- Data Center Innovation/Best Product Award to Source Photonics for their family of industry leading 800G OSFP and QSFP-DD pluggable solutions
Baton of industry-leading insight handed to Day Two’s presenters
The bar for quality insight and leading knowledge set on Monday was met by Tuesday’s presenters, which started with a morning session from China Mobile’s Senior Expert on Optical Access Junwei Li. Li explored the readiness of 50G-PON in terms of technology, standards and the ecosystem. Other topics explored throughout the day – from speakers from Cisco, LightCounting, Corning and more – included Fiber vs. IAB in 5G x-haul, Routed Optical Networking and BIDI transceivers.
The latest innovative products got their limelight before the awards ceremony at the Product Focus theatre. Infinera, TRUMPF Photonic Components and Optomind Inc. shared their latest innovations. For more information visit: https://www.ecocexhibition.com/visit/product-focus-2/product-focus-2021-timetable/.
Final day in Bordeaux
ECOC Exhibition looks forward to welcoming our attendees and exhibitors for a final day in Bordeaux tomorrow, where more meetings, presentations and showcasing will fill the exhibition hall.
Remember, you can also share your ECOC 2021 experience with us on social media by using hashtag #ECOC2021 in your posts. Why not also tag us at @ECOC_Exhibition on Twitter and Instagram so we can see what you’re getting up to during the show!
Join us for a virtual catch up in November
| Our virtual catch-up event is the perfect place to connect with exhibitors, customers and colleagues not able to attend the physical event and to attend sessions from Market Focus and Product Focus.
The virtual event will run in the same format as ECOC Live 2020, delivering 3 days of industry developments and insights, discussion from leading companies and networking. Our unique virtual exhibition hall enables you to browse virtual booths, download information, watch product videos and request meetings at time that suits your schedule and timezone. ECOC Exhibition Virtual Catch Up will run from 1-3 November 2021. Further details coming soo |
Day One: Monday 13th September
Europe’s leading optical network event gets warm welcome back
ECOC Exhibition’s return as the much-missed, in-person live hub of fiber optic innovation was welcomed by exhibitors and attendees in a sunny, blue-skied Bordeaux today.
Attendees from the biggest names in optical networks were sure to feel right at home in France, where groundworks for today’s fiber optic networks were first laid. In the 1840s the guiding of light by refraction, the principle that makes fiber optics possible, was first demonstrated here.
Today, it was time for attendees of ECOC to demonstrate the latest innovation in the field. For the first time since 2019 in Dublin, Europe’s leading optical network event was back.
Kicking the day off were Market Focus and Product Focus sessions from LightCounting and VIAVI Solutions, respectively.
Market Focus makes its mark
In a busy Market Focus feature, attendees were welcomed with both shelter from the warm Aquitaine sun and insight from LightCounting CEO and founder Vladimir Kozlov on the accelerated adoption of silicon photonics between 2018-2020. Sales of SiP-based products reached almost $2 billion in 2020, accounting for 25% of the total market for optical transceivers. Kozlov believes that the market position of SiP technology will be solidified over the coming decade thanks to co-packaged optics and developments with optical chips.
As the Market Focus sessions got under way, so too did the action at the newly introduced Product Focus theatre. As a live feature for the first time since its induction at last year’s virtual event, attendees were treated with a presentation on pluggable coherent optics from Viavi’s Paul Brooks. Brooks examined the key area where addition functionality and complexity drives inter-op challenges beyond the traditional photonic domain focus.
Attentive attendees at the Product Focus theatre were witness to more insight at the forefront of optical innovation as the day continued. Rangchen Yu of Sifotonics explored the progress made in standardization and MSA on extended reach optical solutions, focusing on 100G, 400G and 800G. The applications in 5G and data center connectivity for these new generation of 400G and 800G extended reach solutions were also discussed.
Staying on the theme of 5G, David Binder, Yamaichi Technologies’ Business Development Manager spoke about the technical and geopolitical factors affecting pluggable transceivers in its rollout – and how Yamaichi is responding to this market environment.
Awards and more to come
Throughout the day, the Market Focus theatre was at capacity as well-received presentations from Michael Lebby of Lightwave Logic Inc. on ‘Advancing integrated photonics with electro-optic polymer modulators’ and from Ayar Labs UK Ltd on Optical I/O for Chip-to-Chip Communications saw in the afternoon.
800G was the hot topic of the afternoon, with presentations from Sicoya, Source Photonics, Artista and Marvell on the bill. OIF wrapped up the day with Josef Berger, Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. and OIF Representative by exploring the Deployment of 400ZR and the ongoing OIF Work to Define 800ZR/LR.
ECOC Exhibition’s second day promises to be as action-packed as it’s first – tomorrow we welcome the winners of this year’s ECOC Exhibition Industry Awards. Make sure you attend the Product Focus arena for the live presentation starting at 3pm.
