CONFERENCE PREVIEW

OFC/NFOEC 2013: THE FUTURE OF OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS

Next month, optical communications and networking professionals from around the world will once again convene at the leading event for the field, the Optical Fiber Communication/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (OFC/NFOEC). OFC/NFOEC prides itself on staying at the forefront of innovation and this year will cover topics like virtualization and Software Defined Networks (SDN), 100G/400G network design and optimization, cloud and data center networking, flexible grid networks, space division multiplexing, beyond 1 Tb/s networking, high-speed photonic integration and optical/wireless convergence. New products, cutting-edge technology and vital research at the forefront of communications will be presented through more than 800 peer-reviewed and invited presentations, an extensive exhibit hall with more than 550 leading optical communication companies, numerous workshops, panels, short courses and other special events. OFC/NFOEC 2013 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center March 17-21 in Anaheim, Calif. Devices and Components for Space-Division Multiplexing in Few-Mode Fibers, Nicholas Fontaine, Bell Labs, AlcatelLucent, USA

Workshops Highly interactive workshops and panels at OFC/NFOEC provide attendees the opportunity to explore the latest technologies through discussion and debate. This year 12 workshops will feature speakers from Google, IBM, Cisco and the like covering many of the current hot topics, from trying to answer, If the technology for SDM exists, do we want to use it? to Does analog photonics have a role in a digital world? Special Symposia A symposium on Enabling the Cloud will provide in-depth discussions of how networks can enable the cloud, with specific focus on new network technologies both within data centers and between data centers. Another symposium on Convergence of Wireless and Optical Networking will explore the convergence from different angles such as key 4G/5G mobile technologies, blueprints for optical access, integration between wireless and optical networking, and solving the bandwidth bottleneck in the backhaul. Short Courses Short courses taught by highly regarded industry experts are available to attendees on a broad range of topics. This years courses will feature content and conversation on network technologies, optical devices, datacom, and more. New courses for 2013 include Fundamentals of Super Computing, The Evolution of Network Architecture toward Cloudcentric Applications, and Software Defined Networking and OpenFlow.

PLENARY SESSION
Headlining the event are three keynote speakers at the well-attended Plenary & Awards Session. The CEO of Brazils state-owned telecom service provider Telebras, Caio Bonilha, will discuss that countrys present efforts in deploying 20,000 miles of high-speed broadband backbone. Software-defined networking (SDN) is an emerging, and sometimes contentious, topic in the community. Nick McKeown of Stanford UniversitySDNs co-inventorwill offer his perspective on the topic. And CEO Brian Protiva of telecom company ADVA Optical Networking, based in Germany, will take a look at the future of network infrastructure and what that means for vendors and others in the business. The keynote talks are preceded by awards presentations from the three cosponsoring societies (IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE ComSoc and the Optical Society [OSA]), including the Tyndall AwardOSA and IEEE Photonics Societys top award for optical communicationswhich will be presented to James Coleman of UIUC.

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EXHIBIT HALL
In addition to hundreds of technical sessions, attendees can visit the most comprehensive exhibit hall in the industry from participating companies from around the world. Show floor programming includes the perennial favorites Market Watch and Service Provider Summit (SPS), and show floor theaters will again feature sessions from industry leading organizations like the Optical Internetworking Forum and the Ethernet Alliance. In another demonstration of OFC/NFOECs dedication to staying on top of the latest trends, SPS will feature keynote presentation from Joe Weinman, SVP of Cloud Services and Strategy at Telx, who will take a look at the economics of the clouda term he dubs cloudonomicsand what it means for the next generation networks. Market Watch dives deep into the business of telecom with panels on the state of the industry and highspeed pluggable optics in the data center, to name a few. Speakers from Google, Corning Inc., Ericsson and others will appear. With these programs, and many more not listed here, attendees can expect OFC/NFOEC 2013 will maintain the standard of excellence set by the past 38 years of conference programs.

TECHNICAL PROGRAMMING
The technical program at OFC/NFOEC consists of rigorously peer-reviewed papers alongside invited talks from the brightest minds in the field. Its rounded out by panel discussions, short courses and workshops. Below are some of the technical program highlights. Invited Speakers OFC/NFOEC speakers are chosen through a highly selective nominations process. A sample of invited talks this year includes: Multi-Tenant Data Center and Cloud Networking Evolution, Nabil N. Bitar, Verizon, USA ROADM Options in Optical Networks: Flexible Grid or Not?, Sheryl Woodward, AT&T, USA Advantages of Coherent Detection in Reflective PONs, Roberto Gaudino, Politecnico di Torino, Italy How to Design an Energy-efficient Fiber-Wireless Network, Leonid Kazovsky, Stanford Univ., USA

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IEEE Communications Magazine February 2013