News: Optoelectronics
26 September 2025
OIF highlighting how interoperability enables scalable, AI-era networks through Market Focus sessions and live demos
At the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2025) in Copenhagen, Denmark (29 September–1 October), the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), together with 35 participating member companies, is demonstrating how multi-vendor collaboration is delivering real-world interoperability and enabling the scale, speed and efficiency that future networks demand.
Interoperability in action
OIF’s live demonstration at booth #C3425 unites member companies across the ecosystem to prove that the building blocks of the future — optical, electrical, management and energy-efficient interfaces — are ready for deployment. Showcasing interoperability in a complex, real-world environment, the demonstration highlights technologies including 400ZR, 800ZR, multi-span optics, Common Electrical I/O (CEI) CEI-448G, CEI-224G, CEI-112G, co-packaging, common management interface specification (CMIS), and energy-efficient interfaces (EEI) — illustrating how standards enable networks to scale for AI and data-intensive applications.
800ZR, 400ZR and multi-span optics – optical breakthroughs
This demonstration presents the latest developments in interoperability for pluggable coherent optics, providing an overview of their features and applications. The single-span demo highlights include 800ZR multi-vendor interop between modules using five different DSPs alongside the foundational OIF 400ZR application. For multi-span connectivity, the demonstration features OpenZR+, 100ZR and 800G OpenROADM across multiple network infrastructures.
CEI-448G, 224G and 112G – driving innovation and collaboration for future-oriented data centers
At ECOC, OIF is showcasing interoperability and innovation at the electrical interface with 448G and 224G CEI demonstrations that span the full spectrum of next-generation connectivity. The 448G demo focuses on hyperscaler needs for scaling AI networks, while expanded CEI-224G showcases bring greater ecosystem participation and highlight diverse link types from very short reach (VSR) to long reach (LR) and linear. In collaboration with the EEI track, OIF is also demonstrating energy-efficient electro-optical innovation across retimed, half-retimed (RTLR) and unretimed (linear) pluggable optics. These demonstrations highlight the strength of the CEI ecosystem, proving robust interoperability across vendors and link types while advancing scalable, high-performance connectivity.
EEI and co-packaging – revolutionizing connectivity
OIF members are presenting achievements enabling energy-efficient electrical and optical interfaces with both live and conceptual demonstrations of next-generation EEI solutions for AI compute, along with live external laser small form-factor pluggable (ELSFP) demos highlighting advancements in external laser sources critical for co-packaged optics architectures. Addressing energy efficiency is one of the highest-priority challenges faced by hyperscalers as they grow their AI resources to the next generation.
As part of this year’s demonstration, CMIS will run within a live, simulated network environment rather than as a standalone setup — underscoring the specification’s maturity and its role in enabling seamless, plug-and-play integration across disaggregated systems.
The following member companies — system vendors, component and module suppliers, test & measurement providers, semiconductor and electronic design automation (EDA) companies, and leading connector and cabling manufacturers — are participating in the demo: 1Finity, Adtran, Alphawave Semi, Amphenol, Anritsu Corp, AOI, Cadence Design Systems Inc, CICT/Accelink, Ciena, Cisco, Coherent Corp, Eoptolink Technology, EXFO, Furukawa FITEL, HGGenuine, Juniper Networks (now part of HPE), Keysight Technologies, Lessengers, Ligent Inc, Lumentum, Marvell, MaxLinear Inc, Molex, MultiLane, Nokia, Nubis Communications, O-Net, Samtec, SENKO Advanced Components, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Synopsys Inc, Terahop Pte Ltd, TE Connectivity, US Conec and Wilder Technologies.
“By bringing these diverse technologies/challenges together under one roof, OIF is accelerating adoption, reducing risks and enabling operators, hyperscalers and vendors to move faster in addressing surging AI demand,” says Nathan Tracy, OIF president (TE Connectivity).
ECOC Market Focus
Beyond the exhibit floor, OIF leaders are delivering their perspectives during ECOC’s Market Focus program, offering actionable insights into the forces re-shaping networks:
- 30 September (12:20–12:35pm CEST) — ‘Coherent Technology Advances in the Market, DCI Interop and Shorter Reaches for AI’, by Karl Gass, OIF Physical & Link Layer Working Group Optical vice chair;
- 30 September (2:20–2:35pm CEST) — ‘CMIS – The Interface that Ties Everything Together for AI’, by Ian Alderdice, OIF Physical & Link Layer Working Group Management co-vice chair (Ciena);
- 1 October (10:40–10:55am CEST) — ‘Energy Efficiency in AI Applications – Making Sense of the Multiple Requirements’ by Jeff Hutchins, OIF board member and secretary/treasurer, Physical & Link Layer Working Group Energy Efficient Interfaces vice chair (Ranovus);
- 1 October (12:00–12:15pm CEST) — ‘448G Architectures For AI – Addressing the Challenges, Enabling the Future’, Mike Klempa, OIF board member and Physical & Link Layer Interoperability Working Group chair (Alphawave Semi).
