INDUSTRY NEWS
AI drives demand for optical transceivers, LPO, CPO
LightCounting’s January 2025 edition of Optics for AI Clusters report finds that this new market segment will double in size in two years: from US$5 billion in 2024 to more than US$10 billion in 2026. The analyst expects this rapid growth to moderate in 2026-2027 as the first wave of excitement about AI subsides. Use of LPO and CPO in scale-up networks will return this market to double digit growth in 2028-2030. It says that growth in Nvidia’s business was the
main factor impacting optical-transceiver sales in 2023-2024. New designs of Nvidia’s AI clusters require a lot of transceivers. Until 2023, Nvidia’s AI cluster systems used only copper and active optical cables (AOCs). The NDR (400G) InfiniBand connections use pluggable 400/800G SR4/SR8 and DR4/DR8 transceivers instead of AOCs. The latest XDR systems will use 1.6T DR8 and 2xFR4 pluggables, including some LPOs. Nvidia is actively developing CPO as well, which will be the
best option for scaling-up NVLink connectivity over fibre. LightCounting expects that both LPO and CPO will be deployed in scale-up networks staring in 2026- 2027, reaching high volumes by 2028. The report explores the evolving role of optics in AI Clusters, covering both connectivity and switching. It features data for the sales of optical transceivers for compute nodes and AI Clusters in Cloud datacentres for 2021-2024 with a forecast for 2025-
2030. Importantly, the forecast includes detailed models for the deployment of optics in AI Clusters (back-end networks) at Alibaba, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle, to illustrate the differences between the optics used in compute nodes (front- end networks). A detailed analysis of the pivotal role being played by optical connectivity including NVLink, UALink and CXL/ PCIe in the implementation of AI Cluster architectures is central to this report.
Nokia to get EU nod for Infinera deal
Telia Norway, Ciena trial 1.6 Tbps data transmission in Nordics
According to an exclusive report from the Reuters news agency, Nokia is set to secure unconditional EU antitrust clearance for its US$2.3 billion acquisition of U.S. optical semiconductors and networking equipment maker Infinera, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. Nokia announced its intention in June last year, when it also revealed it intended to sell off ASN, it’s submarine cable arm to the French State. The agency says the acquisition will allow Nokia
to sell more equipment to big tech companies
such as Amazon Alphabet and Microsoft which are investing billions of dollars in building new data centres to service the artificial intelligence boom. It adds the move would make Nokia the second largest vendor in the optical networking market with a 20% share, behind Huawei, which is benefiting from the minimal presence of Western companies in China. It is expected the deal will close in March.
Telia Norway and Ciena recently achieved 1.6 Tbps through a single optical channel between Oslo and Trondheim, claimed to be an industry first in the Nordics. Powered by Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) technology, the trial was over one of the highest capacity routes in the country and covered a distance of 656km, supporting seven ROADMs. Ciena says its WL6e is the industry’s first high- bandwidth coherent transceiver using state- of-the-art 3nm silicon to drive significant economic benefits for operators, including a 50% reduction in space and power per bit. WL6e provides massive 1.6 Tbps, single-carrier wavelengths for metro ROADM deployments and maximises network coverage for 800G connectivity. “This impressive achievement with Telia Norway builds on a
Virginie, Hollebecque, vice president, EMEA, Ciena. “WL6e can help Telia Norway create the foundation of a new optical fabric designed to support the burgeoning demands of AI and data-centric applications. WL6 can also help position Telia Norway to support the increasing interest in Norway as a prime location for data centre construction, capitalising on the country’s affordable energy and favourable climate.” “Global businesses are increasingly seeing Norway as a highly desirable destination for constructing data centres, as we have an advantageous combination of affordable energy and favourable climate conditions,” said Georg Svendsen, CTO, Telia Norway. “This technology milestone with Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 shows our ability to build a more robust and scalable network that can handle growing bandwidth demands and help push forward Norway’s digital progress.”
Exail trials 10G earth-to- space optical comms
Exail has successfully trialled 10 Gbps optical downlink and uplinks between the TELEO geostationary in- orbit demonstrator and ground stations. Developed by Airbus Defense & Space in collaboration with CNES (French Space Agency) and hosted aboard the Arabsat Badr-8 satellite, TELEO features a laser terminal equipped with an optical transceiver assembled and space-qualified by Exail.
The optical transceiver fully integrated by Exail is composed of a transmitter and a receiver channel built with key sub- components. These include Exail’s Low Noise Optical Amplifier (LNOA) based on radiation-hardened doped optical fibres manufactured in-house and matching electronics, lithium-niobate (LiNbO3) modulators, and a RF amplifier.
strong track record of Ciena industry-firsts in coherent optics,” said
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| ISSUE 40 | Q1 2025
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