This optical researcher is off to ECOC 2025 to spread the Nokia Bell Labs gospel

For the past 30 years, Nokia Bell Labs optical researcher Sébastien Bigo has been a near-constant presence at the annual European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC). In fact, since 1995, he has missed only a single edition of Europe’s most prestigious gathering of the optical research community.

Typically, it has served as an outlet for him to present research in his areas of expertise of optical security, network automation and non-terrestrial network communications. He also took on several leadership roles in various committees of the organization.

But this year’s 51st edition of the conference, taking place next week (Sept. 29-Oct. 2) in Copenhagen, Denmark, has particular significance to him. That’s because this time he has arranged for a special symposium at ECOC 2025 that is devoted to the Nokia Bell Labs centennial. It’s a chance not only to present Nokia Bell Labs’ extraordinary legacy in optical innovations over the past century, but also to potentially recruit the next generation of researchers.

“They will have a chance to explain what makes their research unique and impactful, basically how they would like to change the world,” he explained.

The three-hour symposium, which Bigo organized along with colleagues René-Jean Essiambre, Jean-Paul Hamaide and Jelena Pesic, includes an overview of the origin of game changing optical technologies and reflections from ten distinguished Bell Labs alumni. Finally, there will also be a competition for the Bell Labs Centennial Prize, where future innovators will take center stage in a fast-paced, three-minute pitch competition aimed at redefining what’s possible in optical communications.

“We have been instrumental in every major innovation of the industry, and this symposium is an acknowledgement of our unique role and the influence we’ve had in optical communication,” Bigo said. “Bell Labs has been involved in light management nearly as long as we’ve been involved in electron management that led to the invention of the transistor.”

Laser-focused on optical networks

Indeed, the 1947 invention of the transistor became known as one of the most significant in Bell Labs’ illustrious history. But less than a decade later came another, when Bell Labs pioneered the laser.

The laser, an acronym of “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation,” revolutionized the communications industry by introducing optical into the mix. Bell Labs has been at it ever since, constantly driving faster and more efficient forms of optical communications.

It’s a never-ending race to meet the insatiable global demand for high-speed communication, and in this realm, fiber optics is king. The fastest way we know how to communicate, and the most energy efficient, is through an elaborate network of high-capacity fiber optic cables. These cables contain strands of fiber, each about the diameter of a human hair, that make up the backbone of the Internet and on-line artificial intelligence, and allow us to transmit millions of text, audio and video communications at the speed of light – while also keeping our energy footprint to a minimum.

Earlier in his career, Bigo also took part in the race for new optical world records, at one point demonstrating 30 record transmission systems experiments in a row, at channel rates of 10Gbit/s, 40Gbit/s, 100Gbit/s and 400Git/s.

But recently his focus has shifted away from transmission speeds to the wider research area of automated, dynamic and elastic optical networks. In particular, he specializes in the distinct, yet often inter-connected, fields of security, automation and non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication networks.

“There is a renewed focus on security because of the geopolitical changes and the rise in sabotage attempts against fibers in areas of conflict,” he said. “The optical NTNs will allow us to use laser beams that are not inside the fiber but rather in free space so that, for instance, we can connect Earth with the Moon.”

Bigo presenting a TEDx talk on fiber optics

A film and frisbee fanatic

Bigo, who has lived and worked in France his entire life, completed his studies at the Institut d’Optique Graduate School, earning his PhD degree in physics in 1996. Even before he graduated, he joined Nokia Bell Labs’ precursor Alcatel Research and dove into his optical career, focusing on high-capacity Wavelength Division Multiplexing transmission systems.

A 2012 Bell Labs Fellow, Bigo is the author, or co-author, of more than 400 journal and conference papers, and the inventor, or co-inventor, of 55 patents. A recipient of many prestigious awards, including the  2017 IMT Grand Prize of the French Academy of Science, he is also an accomplished public speaker whose addresses include a 2020 TEDx Talk on fiber optics.

Additionally, he has held roles in a variety of professional organizations. He is currently the chair of digital infrastructure at Photonics 21, the official European Commission-designated association that promotes photonics and defines Europe’s research priorities with a 350-million-euro budget over seven years. He’s also served as a member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Photonics Society and has held leadership positions at various ECOC committees. He is scheduled to serve as General Conference Chair the next time France hosts ECOC, in 2030.

“It is like running a small company for two or three years, so it is a significant time investment,” he said.

Despite his busy schedule, Bigo also has a rich life outside work. The last time France hosted ECOC was in 2014 and Bigo served as the Technical Program Chair in Cannes, in the south of France. In was there that he was first exposed to the famous film festival (Festival de Cannes). He’s been a devoted cinephile since, annually attending the May festival and maintaining a comprehensive blog of his critiques of the more than 200 films he typically views in theaters each year.

“It’s a true hobby,” he said, noting his eclectic tastes. “I really like all types of movies. It can be horror, it can be science fiction, it can be melodrama. It really can be anything.”

His other major hobby is the weekly Ultimate Frisbee game he’s been playing for the past 25 years with his Nokia colleagues in Massy, on the outskirts of Paris. It serves both as a welcome escape and a source of inspiration.

“There are about 15 of us and it’s a great way for colleagues to talk to each other,” he said. “I can't remember how many times we’ve exchanged important information with each other during the game. Sometimes you even get your best ideas when you play. You never know when the alchemy of ideas will come to life.”

The Nokia Ultimate Frisbee team in Massy, France.