NEC Corporation has secured an order from NTT Corporation for its SpectralWave WX-T transponder, designed to convert optical and electrical signals for deployment in the IOWN APN (All-Photonics Network). The WX-T, aligned with the APN-T (Open APN Transceiver) specifications from the IOWN Global Forum, will be installed in telecom facilities and at customer sites such as data centers and office buildings, linking the core network with user devices. The rollout will form the backbone of NTT’s next-generation high-speed network infrastructure, addressing rising capacity demands while reducing power consumption.
The WX-T incorporates NEC’s Network Operating System (NEC NOS), which has received the world’s first Gold Badge certification under the “Phoenix” project, part of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) initiative to advance openness in optical IP networks. Key technical features include high-frequency, detailed fault analysis logging for faster troubleshooting; a white box architecture leveraging general-purpose hardware for cost-effective, carrier-grade performance; and support for L-band operation, enabling flexible multi-band environments.
NEC and NTT say the WX-T’s design will also advance optical data center networking by meeting multi-band requirements, supporting high-capacity, low-latency, and energy-efficient transmission for emerging use cases. The companies see the platform as a building block for more diverse digital services and a carbon-neutral network infrastructure.
- Deployment planned nationwide across NTT’s network
- Supports APN-T specification from IOWN Global Forum
- First NEC NOS to earn TIP “Phoenix” Gold Badge certification
- High-resolution fault logging for rapid root-cause analysis
- White box, L-band–compatible design for flexible optical networking
- Targets both telecom and data center optical connectivity needs
“Through our collaboration with NTT, we are delivering optical solutions that combine openness, high performance, and power efficiency for the IOWN era,” said an NEC spokesperson.
🌐 Why it Matters: This deal strengthens the IOWN initiative’s shift toward open, photonic-based network architectures, blending telecom-grade reliability with white box economics. L-band capability and multi-band support position NEC’s platform for the growing convergence of telecom and hyperscale data center optical networks.
Background: TIP, Phoenix Project, and IOWN APN Integration
The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is a global, non-profit engineering consortium focused on accelerating the development and deployment of open, disaggregated, and standards-based telecom infrastructure. Its members include major operators such as NTT, Telia, Telefónica, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and MTN, as well as vendors, integrators, and research institutions. TIP works through project groups that define open specifications and test multi-vendor interoperability, aiming to break away from proprietary, vertically integrated systems.
The Phoenix Project is part of TIP’s Open Optical and Packet Transport (OOPT) group. It focuses on developing open and disaggregated transport network solutions by standardizing hardware and software interfaces for optical transponders, routers, and packet-optical integration. The “Gold Badge” certification awarded to NEC NOS within Phoenix signals that the product meets TIP’s highest-level compliance for openness, interoperability, and alignment with operator-defined requirements. This ensures that operators can mix and match optical transport components from different vendors while maintaining performance and manageability.
The IOWN APN (All-Photonics Network), championed by NTT and the IOWN Global Forum, envisions a fully photonic communications layer from core to edge, leveraging optical technology not just for transmission but also for switching and computing interconnects. Within this vision, the APN-T (Open APN Transceiver)—which the SpectralWave WX-T supports—represents the customer-premises or edge optical transceiver that links user facilities (such as data centers and enterprise buildings) with the photonic core. Integrating TIP Phoenix–certified NOS into this element of the APN gives NTT the flexibility of open optical networking while ensuring global interoperability and supply chain diversity.
By aligning TIP’s open transport principles with the IOWN APN’s all-optical vision, NTT and NEC are setting a path toward a photonic network that is both technologically advanced and operationally open—making it easier for other carriers, cloud providers, and enterprises to integrate with IOWN infrastructure in the future.
