The Optical Fiber Conference and Exposition (OFC 2018), which was held this week in San Diego, attracted more than 15,500 attendees, 700+ exhibitors from 65 countries, and over 850 peer-reviewed technical sessions. Last year, OFC 2017 recorded 14,500 attendees and 663 exhibitors in Los Angeles.
The organizers said OFC has been on a steep growth trajectory over the last three years, increasing in overall square footage by 44% and experiencing a 21% growth in exhibitors and attendees.
“Optical advancements in 5G, next-gen optical transport, multi-layer optical internetworking, open transport hardware/software and disaggregation led many discussions this week during OFC–in ground-breaking research presented, technical workshops, product launches and in the plenary addresses from industry visionaries,” said Martin Birk, Lead Member of Technical Staff, AT&T Labs, USA, and a General Chair of OFC 2018. “OFC is the industry’s stage to present, debate, launch and demonstrate the innovations driving applications including AI and connected vehicles that are on the cusp of changing the world in which we live.”
