Optical Vendors Forecast Surge in 400G and 800G Demand by 2026 Driven by AI and Data Centers
Optical vendors Ciena, Nokia, and Ribbon report increasing demand for 400G and 800G connectivity driven by AI and data center traffic. Ciena anticipates strong demand for 1.6T wavelengths, with service providers like Lumen, e&, and Cirion adopting their WaveLogic 6 technology.
Nokia declares 400G as mainstream and expects 800G deployments to ramp up in 2026, highlighting a projected market of over one million units per year by 2030. AOI plans to expand 800G transceiver production at a new facility in Texas.
Ribbon's Apollo platform is already delivering 800G capabilities in live deployments. Predictions for 2026 include 800G coherent pluggables becoming standard for AI networks and a shift towards 'capacity as a service' models for flexible bandwidth allocation across networks, enhancing efficiency for cloud and data center needs.
