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Analyst Report Names Photonic Integration
Cites Infinera as "Undisputed Leader" with "Staggering Lead" in Large-Scale Photonic Integration: A new report by independent analyst firm Heavy Reading names photonic integration the technology that is best positioned to enable network operators to scale their networks to accommodate bandwidth growth while driving down unit costs. The report also identifies Infinera as “undisputed leader” in the field of photonic integration with a lead it calls “astounding” and estimates at four years over the rest of the optical networking industry. 
Researched and written by Heavy Reading analyst Sterling Perrin, the report, entitled Photonic Integration and the Future of Optical Networking, examines optical system vendors’ efforts to reduce cost per bit transported across networks by increasing data rate per wavelength from 10 Gigabits/second (Gb/s) to 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s and concludes that such efforts are unlikely to produce cost benefits on the scale required by network operators. Specifically, Perrin concludes: “Advancements in photonic integration are the best way that the optical industry will be able to scale to meet future bandwidth requirements while similarly reducing the cost per bit….[W]e see photonic integration playing a critical role across the network—from the core to the access.” The report examines a wide range of companies developing and producing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and concludes that Infinera is on the leading-edge of a major wave of photonic integrated circuit development expected over the next 10 years. The report notes that Infinera has leveraged its PIC technology to create a digital optical networking system that delivers network-level innovations including integrated bandwidth management with sub-lambda granularity, digital protection and restoration, rapid end-to-end provisioning with a GMPLS control plane, and 100 Gb/s of capacity per line card. “Infinera has made historic contributions to the field of photonic integration and has attained a four-year lead on the rest of the industry,” commented analyst Perrin. “Now that there is a growing recognition of the importance of photonic integration for the future of the optical industry, we expect other players at both the system and component levels to move aggressively to develop their own photonic integrated circuits.” “The industry is increasingly recognizing that photonic integration is the key to the future of optical networking,” commented Infinera CEO Jagdeep Singh. He added: “Infinera believes that photonic integration is the only technology that can enable networks to scale while simultaneously delivering improvements in density, power consumption, cost-performance, and reliability.” On February 22nd, Infinera unveiled its roadmap for the future development of photonic integration, which anticipates doubling the capacity per PIC every three years. Infinera anticipates that its next commercial PIC will have a capacity of 400 Gb/s or four times the capacity of its current PIC. Infinera’s current PICs, which began shipping in 2004, have achieved more than 50 million cumulative hours of operation in live networks with zero failures. The Heavy Reading report Photonic Integration and the Future of Optical Networking, can be purchased at its Web site.
Researched and written by Heavy Reading analyst Sterling Perrin, the report, entitled Photonic Integration and the Future of Optical Networking, examines optical system vendors’ efforts to reduce cost per bit transported across networks by increasing data rate per wavelength from 10 Gigabits/second (Gb/s) to 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s and concludes that such efforts are unlikely to produce cost benefits on the scale required by network operators. Specifically, Perrin concludes: “Advancements in photonic integration are the best way that the optical industry will be able to scale to meet future bandwidth requirements while similarly reducing the cost per bit….[W]e see photonic integration playing a critical role across the network—from the core to the access.” The report examines a wide range of companies developing and producing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and concludes that Infinera is on the leading-edge of a major wave of photonic integrated circuit development expected over the next 10 years. The report notes that Infinera has leveraged its PIC technology to create a digital optical networking system that delivers network-level innovations including integrated bandwidth management with sub-lambda granularity, digital protection and restoration, rapid end-to-end provisioning with a GMPLS control plane, and 100 Gb/s of capacity per line card. “Infinera has made historic contributions to the field of photonic integration and has attained a four-year lead on the rest of the industry,” commented analyst Perrin. “Now that there is a growing recognition of the importance of photonic integration for the future of the optical industry, we expect other players at both the system and component levels to move aggressively to develop their own photonic integrated circuits.” “The industry is increasingly recognizing that photonic integration is the key to the future of optical networking,” commented Infinera CEO Jagdeep Singh. He added: “Infinera believes that photonic integration is the only technology that can enable networks to scale while simultaneously delivering improvements in density, power consumption, cost-performance, and reliability.” On February 22nd, Infinera unveiled its roadmap for the future development of photonic integration, which anticipates doubling the capacity per PIC every three years. Infinera anticipates that its next commercial PIC will have a capacity of 400 Gb/s or four times the capacity of its current PIC. Infinera’s current PICs, which began shipping in 2004, have achieved more than 50 million cumulative hours of operation in live networks with zero failures. The Heavy Reading report Photonic Integration and the Future of Optical Networking, can be purchased at its Web site.