Events
2017 OIDA Executive Forum Program
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING THE 2017 EXECUTIVE FORUM! Presentations will be posted when speaker releases are received.
INFORMATION ON THE 2018 FORUM WILL BE POSTED IN FALL 2017.
The 2017 program features panels, presentations, a fireside chat and networking events that provide a unique opportunity for executives in the optical networking and communications business to learn from and connect with industry peers who are implementing solutions and addressing issues much like their own. Check back frequently for program updates as additional speakers are being confirmed.
OIDA Executive Forum Schedule
20 March 2017Petree Hall D, Los Angeles Convention Center
| 7:00 - 12:00 | Registration |
| 7:30 - 8:30 | Breakfast |
| 8:30 - 8:45 | Welcome and Opening Comments
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| 8:45 - 9:30 | Featured Keynote Speaker
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| 9:30 - 10:45 |
Panel 1: How Big is the Optical Access Opportunity? Moderator: Simin Cai, Go!Foton
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| 10:45 - 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 - 12:30 |
Panel 2: Trade-offs in Data Center Interconnect (DCI) Moderator: Karen Liu, Kaiam Corp.
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| 12:30 - 13:30 | Networking Lunch |
| 13:30 - 14:45 |
Moderator: Stephen Grubb, Facebook
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| 14:45 - 15:15 | Coffee Break |
| 15:15 - 16:30 |
Panel 4: Short Reach Optics for Data Centers: The New Battleground for Technologies and Suppliers Moderator: Stuart Elby, Infinera
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| 16:30 - 17:45 |
Fireside Chat: Growth and Profitability in Optical Networking - Boom and Bust or Sustainable? Moderator: Natarajan "Subu' Subrahmanyan, AO Asset Management
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| 17:45 - 18:00 | Closing Comments
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| 18:00 - 19:30 | Networking Reception |
OIDA Executive Forum Panels
Panel 1: How Big is the Optical Access Opportunity?
While fiber to the home (FTTH) may be the application many think of first within optical access, there are many other use cases. These include business services delivery, mobile backhaul, mobile fronthaul, centralized RAN, and others, as the technology becomes more powerful and operators seek to meet multiple needs over a single, but converged network. This panel session will address:
- Which applications are the key drivers for the optical access market?
- Which technologies are best positioned for significant acceptance within these opportunities? And do alternative technologies (wireless, DOCSIS 3.1, G.fast, etc.) complement or limit fiber-based approaches?
- What will be the impact of 5G in particular?
- What are the cost points that will drive carrier decisions to adopt new technologies?
Moderator: Simin Cai, Go!Foton
Speakers:
David Eckard, Nokia
Lee Hicks,Verizon Communications
Cedric Lam, Google Access
Kent McCammon, AT&T Access Architecture
Panel 2: Trade-offs in Data Center Interconnect (DCI)
Data Center Interconnect (DCI) is an exploding market.DCI covers a broad range of inter-data center distances spanning several kilometers to 1000s of kilometers.Several technology and architectural choices are available to serve the DCI, and decisions made by DC operators will factor in fiber costs, in-house optical expertise, bandwidth needs, and distances.Choices include:
- Coherent vs Direct Detection
- Dedicated optical transport equipment vs integrated optics into the switching/routing platforms
- Pluggable optics vs MSAs and discreet components
- Disaggregation of the line system from the terminal equipment, for longer distance DCI, trading off vendor lock-in vs optimizing optical performance.
In this panel, experts from different layers of the supply chain will discuss the above trade-offs and offer their perspectives on what are the best/most likely solutions to be adopted in the near future.
Moderator: Karen Liu, Kaiam Corp.
Speakers:
Mattias Fridstrom, Telia Carrier
Parthi Kandappan, Infinera
Hans-Juergen Schmidtke, Facebook
Raj Shanmugaraj, Acacia Communications
Panel 3: Internet Content Providers Building Out Undersea Networks - What Does This Mean for Everyone Else?
The aggregate traffic in and out of the mega datacenters is measured in tens of Tb/s, and much of this traffic must traverse trans-oceanic routes.The majority of traffic carried on sub-sea routes is now ICP-related IP traffic and ICPs see an economic advantage in building their own submarine routes rather than lease capacity on traditional wholesale service provider facilities. These new submarine builds use large area, positive dispersion fiber to help support several times the capacity of legacy submarine cables. Furthermore, the IP-based ICP traffic differs from the usual mix of circuit and packet found on traditional service provider networks.These factors have led to new topologies and submarine transmission platforms optimized for ICP traffic.
This panel will discuss the business cases leading some ICPs to build their own submarine fiber optic routes including the performance targets, capacity, latency, and resiliency mechanisms that factor in to the decision.The panel will focus on what is different about these new sub-sea facilities compared to traditional wholesale service provider facilities providing insights on where the market is going.
Moderator: Stephen Grubb, Facebook
Speakers:
Neal Bergano, TE Subcom
Nestor Garrafa, Telxius
Robert Hadaway, Ciena
Vijay Vusirikala, Google
Panel 4: Short Reach Optics for Data Centers: The New Battleground for Technologies and Suppliers
Mega datacenters spent more than $1 billion on Ethernet optics in 2016 – more than all other enterprises combined. The move to 100G has created great excitement. But the pressure to race to ever higher speeds at an optimized cost is forcing an already stressed market to fragment.
This panel will discuss:
- What is the hyperscale data center operators’ plan to assure a healthy supply chain? Do they need to provide more support to foster the ecosystem?
- More flavors than ever are proposed in IEEE, but unmet need still leads to additional MSAs. Do new technologies expand the choices further or could they become a force for re-convergence?
- How much of the rest of market will follow the lead of the hyperscale operators? How will vendors remain standing with one foot in each of two diverging camps?
Speakers:
Philip Gadd, Intel
Bill Gartner, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Katharine Schmidtke, Facebook
Todd Swanson, Finisar Corporation
Fireside Chat: Growth and Profitability in Optical Networking Boom and Bust or Sustainable?
Despite impressive innovation and strong volume growth, sustained revenue growth and profitability in optics have been elusive. Some challenges are typical of high tech: high fixed cost industry, and high investment required to innovate in the face of cyclical demand. Some challenges may be more unique: vendor fragmentation and customer consolidation, and low volumes across multiple materials.
The last year has been a period of much improved profitability in the optical component market.The key question now is 'Is this time different?' Some of this improvement is due to an exceptional convergence of multiple investment cycles:US metro buildouts, strong optical investments in China and robust intra and inter DC optical investments. But there is also evidence of fundamental changes that offer hope of sustainable improvement such as an increase in technology value and shifts in industry structure.
A diverse panel of leading vendors of optical systems, components and module and ICs that go into those modules will address these questions.
Moderator: Natarajan "Subu' Subrahmanyan, AO Asset Management
Speakers:
Adam Carter, Oclaro, Inc.
Jeffrey Gao, Huawei
Wei-ping Huang, Hisense
Preetinder Virk, MACOM
