HELEN XENOS INTERVIEW
technologies provide industry-leading performance for use in scale up and scale out architectures, such as in embedded xPU, xPO engines and AECs.
start increasing in significant volume starting in 2026, and 1600ZR/ 1600ZR+ are expected to start to be deployed in networks as early as 2027. Choice of technology generation will depend on specific cloud or service provider networking requirements.
pluggable designs, called Coherent-Lite, for intra-data centre and campus applications to meet the performance requirements at the higher line rates that IMDD technology is not able to achieve.
Research from Cignal AI earlier this year showed that in 2024, all of the bandwidth growth came
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What can attendees at ECOC Exhibition this year expect from Ciena?
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from pluggable optics as aggregate bandwidth from embedded optics declined YoY. Where does Ciena see the future: pluggables or embedded?
Ciena says it has ‘embraced open interoperability’ in the coherent pluggable optic space. Can you
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HX At ECOC 2025, attendees can expect to see Ciena’s bold vision for next-generation networking, focused on enabling AI-driven WAN and data centre interconnect solutions. We will showcase several advanced coherent optical technology demos. These include the 200GBaud design behind our WaveLogic 6 Extreme modem –the industry’s 1st 1.6Tb/s coherent solution that is powering AI- driven optical networking builds today, our WaveLogic 6 Nano 800G coherent pluggables running in interoperable 800ZR and 800G ZR+ modes, and the industry’s first 1.6T Coherent-Lite that supports 1.6Tb/s throughput in a pluggable through two 800LR optical lanes. Our demonstrations highlight innovation in both pluggable optics and embedded systems, tailored for scalable, high-speed connectivity. Our booth and speaker sessions will provide insights into the next generation of technologies needed to power both the WAN as well as intra-data centre applications. Ciena will share insights into the next generation of coherent pluggable transceivers, new liquid cooling designs being evaluated to overcome the heat density challenge, and technology/performance trade-off considerations for 448G/lane electrical and optical interconnect. ECOC gives us a prime opportunity to engage deeply with key decision-makers across cloud providers, data centre operators, and service providers, emphasising how Ciena’s solutions strategically address today’s and tomorrow’s connectivity challenges.
tell us about the role it is playing?
Coherent technology is the ubiquitous technology of choice across the WAN from subsea to
HX Ciena currently has leading contribution roles in all key standards development forums associated with coherent pluggables, including IEEE, ITU, OIF and OpenROADM MSA. Examples of current Ciena roles include Co-Vice Chair, OIF PLL Management Working Group and C-CMIS editor, OIF 800LR editor, OIF 1600CL editor, and ITU B.709 and FlexO editor. Open interoperability is central to our approach in the coherent pluggable market. Supporting open standards and multi-vendor ecosystems allows us to offer flexible, vendor-agnostic solutions that simplify network integration and foster innovation. This approach reduces barriers to deployment, accelerates adoption, and empowers all customers to future-proof their networks with modular, interoperable coherent optics that fit cleanly into heterogeneous infrastructures. Reinforcing our support for open interoperability, at ECOC 2025, Ciena is participating in the OIF multi-vendor interop demonstration with our coherent pluggables (800ZR and 800G ZR+ with interop PCS), our coherent router, and our Navigator Network Control Suite.
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metro applications and is now expanding to the data centre campus. It will soon start to be used for intra-data centre applications. There is no single coherent design that will optimally address all applications from both a performance and cost perspective. We believe that both pluggable and embedded coherent optics have important roles to play, complementing each other across different market segments and applications. Coherent pluggable transceivers are enabling the scaling of metro Data Centre Interconnect (DCI) applications that would not otherwise have been possible. Pluggable optics are playing a key role in extending data centre fabrics across 100km, the predominant application for pluggables today. We should expect to see a step level increase in pluggable deployments next year driven by AI, as new geographically distributed GPU clusters start getting deployed in volume. As more features and capabilities get integrated into coherent pluggables, we expect these to be deployed across a wider range of applications. At the same time, embedded optics remain essential for high-capacity, long-haul, and metro networks where spectral efficiency and highest capacity flows are the most important requirements. Our strategy is to continue innovating across the full spectrum, advancing pluggables for volume and flexibility while maintaining leadership in embedded systems for high-end network transformation.
What untapped potential is yet to be realised in the pluggables space? Incredible progress to date has been made in the areas of electro-optic miniaturisation and
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HX
digital signal processing algorithms to achieve 400Gb/s and now 800Gb/s single-carrier wavelength transmission in coherent pluggable transceiver form factors. The next near-term advancement will be L-band variants of both 400G and 800G pluggables, that allow for deployment of pluggables in ultra-high capacity, C&L-band environments to support high growth AI-driven capacity connectivity. As we move forward, advances in integration will push pluggable coherent optics to higher speeds and longer reaches, expanding their use to an increasingly wider set of applications. Conversely, we will see the industry develop new lighter weight, power-optimised coherent
How will the role of pluggable transceivers develop over the next 3-5 years?
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HX Over the next 3-5 years, pluggable transceivers will continue to advance in capacity, efficiency, and integration – reinforcing their key role across a wider set of applications, including metro, regional, and long-haul infrastructure. 400G coherent pluggables will continue to ramp in service provider networks, 800G coherent pluggable deployments will
Helen Xenos, Senior Director of Portfolio Marketing, Ciena
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ISSUE 42 | Q3 2025
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