JOHN EDWARDS OPTICAL EVOLUTION
Network (PON) technologies reduced the need for powered equipment in the field, lowering operational costs. What’s more, improved fibre manufacturing and installation methods — from blown fibre to bend-insensitive cabling — accelerate deployments. The advent of coherent optical transmission and advanced modulation formats has further boosted capacity over long distances, while software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualisation (NFV) have made control, scaling, and upgrades far more flexible. Faster, more precise optical amplifiers and reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) now enable dynamic routing without physical intervention. Automation and GIS-based planning tools are optimising network design, routing, and asset management. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have transformed rollout planning. By integrating terrain data, population density maps, and infrastructure records, operators have minimised trenching costs, reduced environmental impact, and targeted investment where demand and ROI are highest. Predictive analytics and AI-driven maintenance tools are also reducing downtime by identifying potential faults before they start to affect service. ENERGY MATTERS Environmental considerations are another key factor affecting the development and usage of optical networks. The telecommunications industry is under increasing pressure to reduce power consumption. Bodies such as the Broadband Forum are developing standards to further reduce energy usage in fibre networks by optimising equipment and power-saving modes. Reducing the number of devices is no longer an option – but in optical networks, energy can be used more efficiently than ever. For example, GPON, XGS-PON, and emerging 25/50G-PON architectures using passive splitters in the access network eliminate the need for multiple powered street cabinets. Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) enables massive capacity upgrades without laying new cables — avoiding the energy and carbon cost of civil works. Optical line terminals (OLTs) and transponders can enter low-power modes during off-peak periods. We are seeing some other promising developments. Silicon photonics, for example, combines multiple optical components onto a single chip, reducing size, heat output, and energy consumption. Hollow core fibre allows light signals to travel longer distances without degradation, requiring fewer optical amplifiers and fewer regenerators — both of which consume power and require cooling. (Of course, it would also help the planet significantly if users became more aware that storage always
comes at a cost. Every ‘amusing’ meme, ‘interesting’ food pic, and ‘humorous’ AI-generated image is stored indefinitely, consuming precious energy resources!) NETWORK RESILIENCE Developments in optical technology will also play an important role in network resilience. A critical priority, because our reliance on digital infrastructure has grown far beyond what legacy network design ever anticipated. Commerce, fintech, online government services, remote work healthcare, emergency
boosting the amount of optical cable and connections. Making smarter use of that capacity is also key to ensuring optical networks are truly future-ready. Predictive maintenance, dynamic routing, and demand forecasting will make networks more resilient and cost-effective. For example. 400G/800G coherent optics can enable huge boosts in capacity per wavelength without laying new fibre, reducing congestion in high-demand areas. Advanced modulation formats such as 64QAM and probabilistic constellation shaping can improve spectral efficiency, squeezing more data into the same optical bandwidth. Flexible grid DWDM can dynamically adjusts channel spacing to optimise spectral usage for different services. Developments in Software- Defined Networking (SDN) for optical networks allows centralised, automated bandwidth provisioning and faster service activation. Self-healing fibre mesh topologies can automatically reconfigure around faults without manual intervention. Machine learning can predict failures, reroute traffic, and schedule maintenance before service degradation. Several studies and prognoses expect widespread, practical adoption of quantum computing by 2040. It is hard to imagine what that might bring. After all, when the first—noisy!—14K4 modems arrived, most people would not have predicted they would be working, streaming music and video, banking, shopping, and endlessly perusing social media channels from home within a few years! Optical communications networks can support the adoption of quantum computing by providing the high-speed, low-loss, and secure transmission channels needed to connect quantum systems over long distances — enabling both quantum data transfer and quantum-safe classical communications. As demand for bandwidth, resilience, and sustainability intensifies, optical networks will remain at the heart of global digital infrastructure. The next wave will focus not only on greater reach and capacity, but on smarter, greener, and more adaptive systems — blending high-capacity PON, coherent optics, AI-driven optimisation, and robust physical design. These advances will narrow the digital divide, power emerging technologies from 5G to quantum computing, and help safeguard connectivity against growing threats. John Edwards is the founder and owner of Sonix Communications BV. For over twenty years, he has been developingstrategic communications and content and working on research and business development projects for global clients in the FTTx and Data Centre segments, including Aginode, AMS-IX, Commscope, Draka, Ecix, Eurofiber, FTTH Council Europe, Fibre Councils Global Alliance, Geostruct, KPN, Nexans, Prysmian, R&M, and TKI.
response, and transportation, for example, all require continuous availability. If optical networks fail,
access to mission-critical applications, storage, and even basic communications comes to a grinding halt – and potential fallback infrastructure is largely gone. Furthermore, cyberattacks, climate risks, mounting global tensions have placed network independence and reliability high on the agenda. Optical network technology can greatly enhance resilience by combining physical and intelligent safeguards. Optical signals can travel tens to hundreds of kilometres without amplification, reducing the number of active components in the field. That means fewer single points of failure and less chance of downtime because of equipment or power failures. Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) can detect and pinpoint faults within metres — even before service is interrupted. Because each strand carries vast capacity, operators can maintain spare ‘dark fibre’ to quickly light it up in case of cable damage. High-capacity fibre links enable diverse routing, ensuring traffic can be instantly redirected along alternative paths. Automated failover and self-healing protocols restore service in milliseconds, while geographically distributed data centres prevent localised outages from disrupting critical services. AI-driven monitoring can detect threats or faults before they escalate, and the physical hardening of fibre routes and equipment sites protects against environmental and security risks. Together, these measures create a robust, future-proof optical backbone capable of withstanding predictable and entirely unforeseen disruptions. WHAT’S NEXT? The past three decades have transformed optical networks from a specialist technology into something akin to the central nervous system of the modern world, as ubiquitous and essential as electricity. The next three decades will likely see this expand further still. Emerging standards like 50G-PON will future-proof last-mile connections. Beyond FTTH, fibre to the building (FTTB), fibre to the curb (FTTC), fibre to the antenna (FTTA), even Fibre to the Room (FTTR) will proliferate. However, it is not all about simply
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ISSUE 42 | Q3 2025
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