EVENT FOCUS ECOC2026 MARKET FOCUS
EXHIBITION PAVILLION 2
Now in its 20th year, the Market Focus theatre remains one of the highlights of ECOC Exhibition — and a key destination for anyone looking to understand the technologies, trends and commercial forces shaping the optical communications industry. ECOC2026 MARKET FOCUS
Sponsored by:
Bringing together leading experts from across the ecosystem, Market Focus offers a unique opportunity to explore what’s happening today, while looking ahead to the innovations and challenges that will define the networks of tomorrow. The 2026 programme spans the full optical technology value chain, from components, modules, photonics and fibre through to systems, networks, data centres and service providers. With AI driving unprecedented demand for bandwidth and compute, hyperscalers accelerating data centre build-outs, and the industry pushing rapidly towards 1.6T and beyond, this year’s sessions will tackle the critical questions facing the sector — from scaling optical interconnects and reducing power consumption to CPO, XPO, silicon photonics, advanced packaging and next-generation network architectures. MONDAY 21 SEPTEMBER – MODULES, SUBSYSTEMS & AI INFRASTRUCTURE Market Focus opens with a strong focus on the rapidly evolving world of optical modules and subsystems, exploring how the industry is responding to the unprecedented demands of AI infrastructure. Sessions will examine
scale-up, scale-out and scale-across networking, optical circuit switching, CPO and NPO architectures, and the challenges of moving towards 1.6T and beyond. Speakers will also explore advanced cooling, next-generation fibre, coherent-lite optics and the impact of AI-driven demand and geopolitics on the optical component supply chain. The afternoon programme continues the focus on AI data centre infrastructure, looking at the evolution from pluggable optics towards XPO and CPO, lessons from large-scale AI deployments, optical architectures for next-generation networks, and strategies for scaling beyond 200G PAM4. Discussions will also cover supply- chain resilience, advanced fibre technologies, coherent-lite solutions and the practical challenges of deploying high-bandwidth optical connectivity at scale. The day concludes with XPO and System Scaling, a special panel session hosted by Jose Pozo of Optica. Following an opening presentation from Andy Bechtolsheim of Arista, the panel brings together system builders and module vendors to examine the real- world deployment of XPO, including
integration and thermal challenges, coherent and IMDD scaling strategies, and what XPO could mean for future data centre design. TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER – COMPONENTS, PHOTONICS & EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Tuesday morning turns the spotlight to components, ICs, PICs and fibre, examining the technologies needed to support the next generation of AI-scale infrastructure. Topics include the race towards post- 1.6T connectivity, the evolving choices between CPO, NPO, XPO and other architectures, photonics packaging and high-volume manufacturing, silicon photonics, expanded-beam optical connectivity and innovations in laser technology. The sessions provide insight into both the technical and commercial challenges of delivering higher bandwidth, greater density and improved power efficiency. The afternoon programme moves into new and emerging technologies, beginning with a fireside chat exploring the growing role of photonics in next- generation AI/ML interconnects and the new ecosystem developing around them. Further sessions examine CPO and the OCI MSA, next-generation
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| ISSUE 44 | Q3 2026
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