A welcome return to OFC
The more things change, the more they stay the same
There is probably no greater understatement than to say that a lot has changed since the last live, in-person Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference and Exposition. One big change is that the world, beyond just individuals working within the telecommunications industry, has come to understand the critical dependency of our modern society on the networks that connect us.
Reliable, secure and high-bandwidth connections became the lifeblood of the economy over the past two years. For many of us who worked from home, these networks provided the only way to undertake our daily tasks. And when the workday was done, these same networks brought us entertainment and escape when other forms of social interaction were shut down or significantly curtailed.
Sadly, we also became increasingly aware of the criticality of these networks because of the growing scourge of cybercrimes and cyberattacks. These attacks shut down critical infrastructure, exposed intellectual property, disrupted government operations and crippled businesses.
Despite all these changes, the key drivers for the optical networking industry have largely stayed the same. The need to scale network bandwidth is more pronounced than ever and continues to drive incredible innovation and capabilities. Whether they are CSPs, cablecos, webscale companies, mobile operators, governments or enterprises, network operators have seen their bandwidth needs increase from the access/edge to metro-regional networks and across long-haul and subsea connections between cities and continents.
The focus of network operators on network simplification also continues to increase in importance and take new forms. For example, software automation has a critical role to play in simplifying network operations. It can be used to analyze network health and performance, flag possible issues before they occur and implement corrective actions once they do. Or it can ease service enablement and unlock new service revenue opportunities. Network simplification also includes enabling new deployment models with open and disaggregated solutions, and simplifying architectures by enabling IP-optical integration.
Scale made simple
Recognizing these key industry needs, Nokia offers a broad range of solutions to enable the concept of scale made simple. This concept drives our innovation priorities across all aspects of optical networking, which include coherent Photonic Service Engines, optical line systems with ever-greater wavelength switching capabilities and spectrum capacity, scalable P-OTN core switching solutions to enable new wholesale services, and compact, optimized platforms that extend easy scalability to the network access/edge.
The scale made simple concept also encompasses a broad range of network automation capabilities delivered through consumable use case applications, open optical solutions across our portfolio, and efficient IP-optical architectures with end-to-end cross-domain management.
Nokia welcomes you to OFC
Nokia invites you to discover these solutions and more at booth #4139 in the OFC exhibits hall from March 8–10. We look forward to sharing a range of live and interactive demos.
Network operators are welcome to join us at our booth at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, March 9 for a customer appreciation happy hour. Whether you are a customer today or are considering it for the future, please stop by to meet our team and chat with some of our key business leaders, including James Watt, VP & GM, Optical Networking Division, Aref Chowdhury, CTO, Network Infrastructure for IP and Optical, and Stefaan Vanhastel, CTO, Fixed Networks.
On March 8 and 9, we will host the Nokia Bell Labs forum, featuring talks by our R&D leaders on new ways that optical transport technologies are being used in networks and new developments that will shape the optical networks of the future.
Beyond the OFC exhibits hall, you can hear more about Nokia’s vision for optical networking in many technical sessions and short courses, during talks at the Optica Executive Forum on March 7, and during the MarketWatch session on converged IP-optical networks on March 8 from 2:30–4:00 pm.
The future is bright
It is a welcome and eagerly anticipated development that our industry, along with society in general, can contemplate a cautious and responsible return to live events such as OFC. For all the optical networking designers, researchers, consumers and operators who have enabled society to thrive in the past two years, this is a milestone moment worthy of pride. Whether you plan to attend in person, watch online or read about the industry’s latest developments, OFC 2022 will be an exciting reminder that the future of optical networking is bright.
Find out more
Event web page: OFC Conference and Exposition 2022
Event web page: Nokia at OFC 2022
Nokia product portfolio: Optical networks: Scale made simple
