IN THIS ISSUE...
05 NEWS UK regulator sets out proposals for full-fibre boost n 4site acquisition to expand network design expertise n German research project to expand optical network capacity n Lumentum sells optical component lines to AFR
10 FEATURE: PHOTONIC INTEGRATION
Graphene could transform networks if its remarkable properties can sustain a viable supply chain, finds Andy Extance
14 ANALYSIS & OPINION: PHOTONIC INTEGRATION François Couny advises that you should PIC your test to deliver reliable optical component performance in a next-generation world
16 FEATURE: DATA CENTRE OPTICS Has the rise of the data centre impacted the market for optical components? Keely Portway asks the question
22 ANALYSIS & OPINION: CONVERGENCE Raf Meersman offers three routes to 5G that could ensure less capital and operational expenditure for operators – convergence is key to them all
24 ANALYSIS & OPINION:FTTH IN EUROPE Mark Weller looks at why the UK’s nationwide rail network should be a strategic component of Digital Britain
26 FEATURED TECHNOLOGY: MULTIMODE FIBRE Keely Portway looks at multimode fibre, including the latest standards, technology, market and industry trends
28 30 32
ANALYSIS & OPINION: FIBRE & 5G Anticipating the road to 5G and its full-fibre pavement in cities, with Mikael Sandberg
ANALYSIS & OPINION:FIBRE & CABLE Sergei Makovejs and Matthew Guinan advise on building future-ready terrestrial networks with hybrid optical fibre cables
ANALYSIS & OPINION: INSTALLATION
Jay Tourigny outlines the challenges of cleaning high-density fibre connections in giant data centres, and how they can be overcome
35 PRODUCTS A round-up of recent product announcements
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REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
W
elcome to the Winter edition of Fibre Systems, and the first edition of a new decade. Te first quarter of any new year is oſten used as a
time for reflection, as people – and organisations – look back at the things they have done well over the last 12 months, and plan how they can improve going forward. Te start of a year can also be seen as a
somewhat dark and dreary transitional period between the festivities of Christmas and the start of Spring. Not so, in the optical communications arena, where it is very much all systems go. Tere is certainly a sense of positivity and buoyancy with fibre deployment projects happening at pace; innovative new technologies being developed to aid the ever-increasing demand for high bandwidth and a host of events where like- minded individuals can get together and see new technologies on offer, while learning from their peers’ experience. By the time you read this, of course, we will be
a litle over a month away from the OFC 2020 conference and exhibition in San Diego. Tere looks set to be around 180 speakers and some 700 exhibitors over the five days, looking at a huge variety of products, topics, challenges and ideas to take the industry forward. And with such new technologies, not to mention regulations, mergers, acquisitions and business models developing at pace – as well as the ever-present issue of 5G – there will be a lot to talk about! In line with this, we have a rather jam-packed
edition. On page 10 for example, Andy Extance examines how graphene could be a game changer for networks. Returning to 5G, and page 22 features
advice from Comsof’s Raf Meersman on how convergence could be the answer for operators in terms of cost-saving, while Mark Weller, from NextGenAccess, looks at the UK specifically, and how its nationwide rail network could aid fibre deployment on page 24. As you might expect from the OFC edition,
there is also a plethora of advice and opinion surrounding optical components and, in particular, data centre optics. As always, the latest industry news and product launches can be found in these pages. If you are making your way to San Diego at the
beginning of March and would like to meet with the Fibre Systems team to fill us in on the latest developments at your organisation, or offer your view on industry issues, please feel free to get in touch. Tose not atending are, of course, also
welcome to get in touch and share their views. Tis is your industry magazine aſter all, so feel free to help us shape the issues we cover.
Issue 26 n Winter 2020 n FiBRE SYSTEMS 3
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