Exhibit hall programs to cover datacom, cloud services, software-defined networking, network infrastructure, service provider integration and more

March 18 — OFC/NFOEC: "Acquisition and Integration Strategies – Consolidation in the Service Provider Realm"

WHAT: Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (OFC/NFOEC) 2013

WHEN/WHERE: March 17 - 21 (Exhibits open March 19 - 21) at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif.

DETAILS: As the largest and most comprehensive international event for both the science and business of optical communications, this year's conference – with more than 12,000 attendees expected, along with more than 550 exhibiting companies (45 percent based outside the U.S.) and more than 800 technical and business presentations – will host the entire scope of optical communications, providing technical programming, exhibits and other activities for all audiences from systems and components manufacturers to service providers, carriers and enterprises.

The industry's most comprehensive exhibition features:

Exhibits from leading companies, such as Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena, Cisco Systems, JDSU, and Finisar. Companies include network and test equipment vendors, systems and component manufacturers, plus software, fiber cable and specialty fiber manufacturers.

Three Exhibit Hall theaters of business programming, featuring presentations by experts from major global brands and key industry organizations, including Verizon, Juniper, Google, Sprint, Microsoft, Cisco, Corning, the Ethernet Alliance, Optical Internetworking Forum, and many others.

Local Representation from more than 100 California-based companies on the show floor, including Broadcom, Ericsson, JDSU, NeoPhotonics, Oclaro, Xilinx and more.

HIGHLIGHTS: Complimentary exposition floor programming highlights include:

Expo Theater I Programming

Market Watch - Tuesday, March 19 - Thursday, March 21

This three-day series of panel sessions engages the applications and business communities in the field of optical communications. Presentations and panel discussions feature esteemed guest speakers from the industry, research and investment communities, including JDSU, Verizon, Finisar, Ericsson and others. Topics covered this year include the state of the industry, packet optical convergence, components, high-speed pluggable optics for the datacenter, and metro 100G applications.

Service Provider Summit - Wednesday, March 20, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

This program features topics of interest to CTOs, network architects, network designers and technologists within the service provider and carrier sector. Joe Weinman, senior vice president of cloud services & strategy at Telx will deliver the keynote presentation, "What Cloudonomics Means for the Network." Panels include "Monetizing the Network – Achieving Value out of the Infrastructure" and "Acquisition and Integration Strategies – Consolidation in the Service Provider Realm" and feature leaders from a global slate of service providers and end users, including Sprint, TCD, Level 3, Zayo and more.

The Buzz – A Real-time Look at the News and Trends Happening at OFC/NFOEC 2013 – Wednesday, March 20, 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.

This new session will feature real-time analysis of the 2013 OFC/NFOEC show floor buzz, analysis of industry news announcements and what they mean to the industry. An unscripted "fireside chat," this program will feature three industry analysts discussing the hot exhibitor news announcements, trends and show buzz – offering an exclusive real-time industry insider's perspective.

Expo Theater II Programming

OIF Program: Physical and Link Layer-Focused Session – Tuesday March 19, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. This panel will explore the Optical Internetworking Forum's (OIF) Next Generation Interconnect Framework document, which identifies the application spaces or types of interconnects that will be needed by the optical communications industry to create next generation networks and meet growing bandwidth challenges. The session includes an overview of the Framework, the types of interconnects that will be found within next generation systems and potential areas of technical work the OIF is pursuing to support the development of new interconnect technologies of the future.

Monetizing Cloud Services: Industry Trends and Best Practices for Service Providers - Tuesday, March 19, 1:30 – 4:15 p.m.

This session will discuss market opportunities and business models, and will explore what role Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Optical Transport will play in enabling cloud networks. Speakers include leaders from companies and market research such as ADVA Optical Networking, Current Analysis, Juniper Networks, IDC and others. OIF Carrier SDN Drivers Session – Wednesday March 20, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

According to the OIF, Software-Defined Networking is the hottest topic the industry has seen since the explosion of optical networking in the late 1990s. The OIF is working toward solving issues, relying heavily on its carrier members – some of whom are among the world's largest, to identify the key requirements and building blocks for the development and deployment of interoperable optical networking solutions and services. This session will address the drivers for carrier SDN in optical/transport networks.

Ethernet Alliance Program – Wednesday, March 20, 1 - 3 p.m.

The Ethernet Alliance is a global community of Ethernet end users, system and component vendors, industry experts and university and government professionals who are committed to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet. The program's first panel is titled "Trends in Interconnects & Integration: Chasing Electrical to Optical Conversion," and will cover adoption of parallel fiber, direct attach cables and optical backplanes. The second panel, titled, "The Need for Speed," will cover 400G Ethernet call-for-interest, adoption rate of 40G/100G and bandwidth growth and the next speed of Ethernet.

Workshop on Photonic Startups and Entrepreneurship – Wednesday March 20, 3:30 – 5 p.m.

Much innovation in the photonics industry is driven by start-up companies. The aim of this workshop is to provide practical guidelines and dos and don'ts of start-ups by featuring a number of seasoned entrepreneurs who tell their story. The focus of the presentations is to share key insights and lessons learned that are useful for any entrepreneur wanting to start a company or develop a new business. Speakers include executives from Acacia Communications Inc., Cyan, Intune Networks, OneChip and Pilot Photonics Ltd.

Expo Theater III Programming

Software-Defined Networks Session - Tuesday March 19, 10:15 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

This session explores the primary economic and operational drivers of SDN from the large service providers' point of view. Discussions will be led by executives from Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena, Cisco, Infinera, Microsoft, Nuage Networks and Verizon, and will cover cloud networking framework and VPN applicability, the role of SDN in cloud automation and services, supporting SDN in transport networks, inter-cloud architecture and implications to optical infrastructure, OpenFlow-based SDN for converged access/aggregation, and combined packet+optical architectures and SDN.

Advancing Optical Solutions in Cloud Computing, Communications and Networking - Tuesday, March 19, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Cloud computing already has widespread impact across how today's applications, resources, and data are accessed. Yet, many issues around cloud computing need to be addressed, including, but not limited to, security, reliability, architecture, and economics. During this session, special attention will be given to current capabilities and future visions for the role of optical technologies and solutions to help solve these challenges. OFC/NFOEC Plenary Session keynote Nick McKeown, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University, will join speakers from Ciena, Verizon, Tellabs, and Telx.

POF Symposium – Wednesday, March 20, 1 – 5 p.m.

The Plastic Optical Fiber Trade Organization's (POFTO) POF Symposium will cover recent developments in POF technology, applications, technical standards, industry progress, and new markets. Speakers from around the world will review opportunities for POF in areas such as Gigabit POF, high-temperature POF, aerospace & automobile applications, home networking, IPTV, consumer devices, and POF sensors, among others.

About OFC/NFOEC

For more than 35 years, the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (OFC/NFOEC) has been the premier destination for converging breakthrough research and innovation in telecommunications, optical networking, fiber optics and, recently, datacom and computing. Consistently ranked in the top 200 tradeshows in the United States, and named one of the Fastest Growing Trade Shows in 2012 by TSNN, OFC/NFOEC unites service providers, systems companies, enterprise customers, IT businesses, and component manufacturers, with researchers, engineers, and development teams from around the world. OFC/NFOEC includes dynamic business programming, an exposition of more than 550 companies, and cutting-edge peer-reviewed research that, combined, showcase the trends and pulse of the entire optical communications industry. OFC/NFOEC is managed by the Optical Society (OSA) and co-sponsored by OSA, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc), and the IEEE Photonics Society. OFC/NFOEC 2013 takes place March 17 – 21 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. For more information, visit www.ofcnfoec.org.

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Source: OFC/NFOEC