About
07 June 2021
OFC 2021 Opens with the Innovations and Solutions Critical to Addressing Ever-increasing Data Demand
WASHINGTON — The much-anticipated annual event in the industry, OFC, is underway with technical programming, special events and technology showcases spanning the optical fiber communications ecosystem.
This year’s OFC, being held in all-virtual format 06 – 11 June 2021, welcomes industry leaders, academia, media and analysts worldwide. The conference kicked off on Sunday, 06 June, with Short Courses and Workshops on optical transport networks, neuromorphic computing and quantum information processing and other trending topics.
The interactive exhibition opens today with product announcements from companies driving innovations in hardware and software-based networking solutions. In addition, for the first time, OFC is presenting daily video conversations with exhibitors and leading analysts Sterling Perrin, Heavy Reading; Ian Redpath, OMDIA; Andrew Schmitt, Cignal AI; Jimmy Yu, Dell’Oro Group and Vladimir Kozlov, LightCounting previewing new products.
“The technologies being discussed and demonstrated at OFC will play a critical role in moving our industry forward and helping us connect on a global scale,” said Chongjin Xie, OFC General Chair, Alibaba Group, USA. “With the entire community represented, this week is going to feature developments from leading brands and new entrants that will shape the future of optical fiber communication and data networking.”
This year’s event features a plenary session, peer-reviewed presentations and nearly 100 invited speakers, four Symposia, three Special Sessions, 10 Workshops, seven Panels, 49 Short Courses, plus business-focused programming. Free space optical communications (FSO) technology will be the focus of several presentations in addition to photonic integration, spatial division multiplexing (SDM) and 5G.
“There is no other event that offers the breadth and depth of OFC’s business and technical programming,” said Xie. “I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge base and hearing from experts and colleagues worldwide as they lead the way to solving network challenges.”
PLENARY SESSION
On Tuesday, 08 June at 08:00 PDT, plenary speakers Nancy Shemwell, COO, Trilogy Networks, USA; Young-Kai Chen, program manager, Microsystems Technology Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), USA; and Yiqun Cai, vice president, Alibaba Group, China, will discuss edge cloud support and applications in rural territories, advances in photonics and artificial intelligence and the evolution of networking driven by cloud computing. Immediately following the presentations, each speaker will participate in live Q&A sessions on their groundbreaking initiatives. They will join OFC General Chairs Jun-ichi Kani, Po Dong and Chongjin Xie, OFC Program Chair Ramon Casellas, OSA Senior Industry Advisor Tom Hausken and OSA Science Advisor C. Randy Giles and registrants for in-depth discussions on the evolution of networking, photonics and AI and deployment of edge cloud for rural areas.
EXHIBITS
Prominent industry corporations will use OFC to unveil their latest new products and research in areas such as 400ZR/400G, 800G, AI architecture, cloud edge solutions, co-packaged optics, diode lasers, disaggregation, embedded optics, networking automation, open optical networking, photonic integrated circuits, pluggable coherent optics and passive optical networks. OFC 2021 exhibitors include II-VI, ADVA, Broadcom Inc., Ciena, Cisco Systems, Corning, EXFO, Go!Foton, Infinera, Intel, InnoLight, Juniper Networks, Lumentum, MACOM, NeoPhotonics, OFS, OptoTest Corporation, Samtec, Source Photonics Synopsys, Inc., Viavi Solutions, VPI Photonics and Xilinx, Inc.
Select exhibitors join industry analysts Alan Weckel, 650 Group; Tim Munks, OMDIA; Scott Wilkinson, Cignal AI and Sameh Boujelbene, Dell’Oro Group as they share insights into this year’s event and why it is more critical than ever. See more exhibitor previews here and learn about new products being announced in the Technology Showcase. OFC 2021 exhibitor news announcements are posted to the OFC Newsroom.
TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
OFC’s technical program started Sunday, 06 June 2021. Being presented in various formats, the program focuses on the most recent progress in research (near- and long-term) and technology and peer-reviewed presentations. Additional technical programming throughout the week includes Special Symposia and the thought-provoking Rump Session.
BUSINESS PROGRAMMING
This year’s business-focused show floor programming includes Market Watch, Network Operator Summit and Data Center Summit and 25 other sessions covering market trends, new technologies and insight into the future. Panels of experts from global brands and key industry organizations provide high-level insights on the state of the industry, hot topics and perspectives on current and future challenges and solutions.
OFC VIRTUAL FORMAT
The OFC Conference and Exhibition is an all-virtual format. Conference programs will be presented live and recorded for on-demand viewing. Two registration options: Full Conference provides access to all programming and the exhibition; the FREE Exhibits Pass Plus enables entry to the Virtual Exhibition, Special Events, plenary and select programs. The new format accommodates speakers and attendees across the globe with content presented live online and recorded for on-demand viewing. Technical sessions are scheduled throughout the day to encourage live participation from registrants in different geographic regions.
Join and follow the conversation with hashtag #OFC21. Follow @OFCConference, learn more about OFC on LinkedIn, and watch highlights OFC YouTube.
MEDIA REGISTRATION
Online media/analyst registration for OFC will remain open throughout the event.
About OFC
The 2021 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) is the premier conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. For more than 40 years, OFC has drawn attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections and move business forward. OFC includes dynamic business programming, an exhibition of global companies and high impact peer-reviewed research that, combined, showcase the trends and pulse of the entire optical networking and communications industry. OFC is co-sponsored by IEEE Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc), IEEE Photonics Society, The Optical Society (OSA) and managed by OSA. OFC 2021, an all-virtual event, will take place 06 – 11 June 2021. Follow @OFCConference, learn more at OFC Community LinkedIn, and watch highlights on OFC YouTube.
