San Francisco, CA – March 11, 2025 – OFC 2025, the premier global event for optical networking and communications, is set to feature an impressive lineup of live, multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations.
This year’s exhibit floor will feature showcases from the Ethernet Alliance, OIF and Open ROADM MSA, each highlighting key advancements in open, standards-based networking solutions. Notably, Open ROADM MSA will participate in OFCnet, presenting SDN-integrated demonstrations that push the boundaries of open networking.
OFC will take place in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, 01–03 April (Technical Conference: 30 March–03 April), bringing together experts, researchers and industry leaders from around the world. In addition to the live interoperability demonstrations, the event will feature an expansive technical program, plenary sessions, workshops and networking opportunities that highlight the latest advancements in optical networking and communications.
“The continued evolution of open networking is crucial for the industry, and OFC remains the only venue to showcase the latest advancements in interoperability and transformative technologies,” said Fotini Karinou, Microsoft, USA, OFC General Chair. “As the event’s high-speed optical network infrastructure, OFCnet plays a pivotal role in bringing cutting-edge technologies, such as quantum networking and AI-driven solutions, to the forefront. The live interoperability demonstrations provide attendees with a comprehensive view of real-world, multi-vendor SDN orchestration that enable more flexible, scalable and cost-effective optical transport networks.”
Interoperability as the Driving Force of Next-Generation Networks
The live interoperability demonstrations on the OFC exhibit floor are critical to ensuring seamless network operations and driving the future of communications. These multi-vendor showcases highlight the importance of collaboration in building open, standards-based networks that enhance performance, scalability and efficiency. Attendees will experience firsthand how interoperability enables robust, flexible and cost-effective optical transport networks, playing a vital role in meeting the growing demands of AI-driven systems, high-performance computing and disaggregated architectures.
Ethernet Alliance - Booth 5173
Showcases the evolution of 800G products including new interconnect schemes, interoperating within a representative network. The Ethernet Alliance demo will feature the multitude of speeds found in a datacenter closet, from 100G to 800G, connected over current and emerging passive and active copper and optical interfaces. There will be solutions from a wide range of ecosystem participants, including test & measurement, interconnect, systems and switches.
OIF - Booth 5745
Highlights advancements in interoperability tailored to address the growing demands of future-oriented data centers, AI/ML technologies and disaggregated systems. OIF’s live interoperability showcase will feature key developments across technologies, including 800ZR, 400ZR, OpenZR+ and Multi-Span Optics; Energy Efficient Interfaces (EEI) and Co-Packaging; Common Electrical I/O (CEI) CEI-448G, CEI-224G and CEI-112G, and Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS).
Open ROADM MSA SDN Integrated Demonstrations - Booth 5128
Highlights the capabilities of a multi-vendor optical transport network using an advanced mesh topology. Organized by a distinguished team including the University of Texas-Dallas, Anritsu, AT&T, Ciena, Fujitsu, NEC, NTT Devices-America and NTT, this year’s Open ROADM MSA demonstration will showcase dynamic, SDN-controlled wavelength circuit provisioning across a disaggregated ecosystem of equipment providers.
The Open ROADM specifications and associated YANG data models support critical optical networking components, including Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs), transponders, ZR+ devices and pluggable optics, with data rates reaching up to 400G. Using equipment from multiple suppliers, this integrated network solution is managed by the open-source OpenDaylight TransportPCE controller. The demonstration also exemplifies interoperability with other key industry standards, including OpenConfig-controlled devices and the IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) architecture.
OFCnet Demonstrations
OFCnet serves as a live testbed for cutting-edge networking products, solutions and architectures. A collaborative effort led by top industry leaders and research institutions, OFCnet enables demonstrations of quantum networking, AI-driven solutions, network element interoperability and networking designed for big data and big science applications. This unique platform fosters collaboration between exhibitors, research laboratories and commercial ventures, highlighting innovations from research breakthroughs to commercial deployment.
The OFCnet demonstrations showcase the latest innovations in high-speed data transmission, network automation and quantum communications, providing attendees with a firsthand look at how these technologies are shaping the future.
● Demonstration of Control and User-Scheduling Based Operation of an Ion-Trap Quantum Network in the Berkeley Area
○ Organizers: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Berkeley and Caltech
● Entangled Photon Distribution for Both Terrestrial and Space Quantum Communications Using Highly Efficient Entangled Photon Source
○ Organizers: AUREA Technology
● Modeling and Simulation of 1G and All-photonic Quantum Repeater Chains
○ Organizers: Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Virginia Tech
● QKD-Enabled Multi-Layer Encryption Solution for Quantum-Resilient Communication
○ Organizers: QTI, Telsy, TIM and SM-Optics
● 800 Gbps E2E WAN Services for Data Intensive Science: Architecture, Technology and Control Systems
○ Organizers: International Center for Advanced Internet Research, Northwestern University, StarLight International/National Communications Exchange Facility, Ciena, UCSD, Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN)
● A Next Generation Multi-Terabit/sec Campus and Global Network System for Data Intensive Sciences
○ Organizers: The Global Network Advancement Group
● Advanced Networked Services for Domain Science Workflow Innovation
○ Organizers: FABRIC, National Research Platform, ESnet and Ciena
● Enhancing Security Operations with AI-Driven Threat Detection and Compliance
○ Organizer: Fortinet
● Optical Network Automated Operation Using Optical Network Digital Twin and LLM-Based Conversational Operation
○ Organizers: Hitachi, NTT and NTT Communications
● Rare-Event Detection in Transit Using In- and Near-Network Computing
○ Organizers: Ciena, RENCI - Renaissance Computing Institute at UNC and Argonne National Laboratory
● Seismicity Detection in the Bay Area Using Fiber Sensing Technology
○ Organizers: OFCnet, Caltech, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Luna Innovations
● Clock Synchronization over 132 km Fiber Network Using a Multiplexed Entangled Photon Pair Source
○ Organizers: memQ Inc. and University of California, Santa Barbara
● Software-Defined Infrastructure for Precise Time Transfer with Open Source Technology Stack
○ Organizers: CESNET - Czech Education and Scientific NETwork
● Timing and Frequency Measurements across Synchronized Remote Locations with Picosecond Precision
○ Organizers: Swabian Instruments
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Digital Sovereignty in Practice: Leveraging In-Band Telemetry and ML for a Responsible Internet
o Organizers: University of Amsterdam, Institute of Informatics and Ciena
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FPGA-Based SmartNIC Telemetry with P4 and DPDK Across Multi-Domain Testbeds
o Organizers: University of California-San Diego, ESnet, International Center for Advanced Internet Research, Northwestern University, StarLight International/National Communications Exchange Facility, Ciena, Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN)
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IOWN APN Optical Path Provisioning for DC Interconnection Over Multi-Vendor Open ROADM Network
o Organizers: Hitachi, NTT and NTT Communications
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Open ROADM MSA SDN Integrated Demonstrations
o Organizers: UT Dallas, Anritsu, AT&T, Ciena, Fujitsu, NEC, NTT Devices - America and NTT
“OFCnet serves as a dynamic testbed for the latest advancements in networking, bringing together cutting-edge innovations across AI-driven automation, quantum communications and high-speed data transmission,” said Sana Bellamine, OFCnet Chair. “This year’s demonstrations showcase the immense breadth of research and commercial collaboration shaping the future of optical networking. From quantum-resilient encryption to AI-powered network optimization, these live demonstrations provide an unparalleled opportunity for attendees to see real-world applications of groundbreaking technologies in action. By uniting industry leaders, research institutions and technology pioneers, OFCnet fosters the critical innovation and interoperability necessary to meet the demands of next-generation networks.”
More information on the 2025 OFCnet demonstrations, the organizing committee, and a complete list of participants, equipment and service providers can be found here.
About OFC
The 2025 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) is the premier conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. For 50 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 that are shaping the entire optical networking and communications industry. OFC is co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc) and the IEEE Photonics Society and co-sponsored and managed by Optica. OFC will be held in-person, 30 March – 03 April 2025, at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, California, USA, with on-demand access to content available post-conference. All technical sessions, workshops, panels and exhibit floor sessions—with speaker permission—will be accessible to Full Conference registrants.
Learn more and engage on LinkedIn, follow @OFCConference on X and watch highlights on OFC’s YouTube channel.