European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communication 2026

Invited Speakers


SC 1: Novel fibres, fibre devices and amplifiers

Speaker Affiliation Title
Francesco Poletti University of Southampton Hollow Core Fibres: from visionary concept to multi-problem solution
Aleksandr Donodin Aston Optical Amplification in the S-band and Beyond: From Materials and Mechanisms to Practical Deployment
Nicolas Fontaine Nokia Bell Labs Rayleigh Speckle backscatter measurements of hollow core fiber
Dong Wang China Mobile Research Institute Field Deployment Practice, Key Challenges, and Standardization Outlook of Hollow-Core Fibers and Transmission Systems
Chigo Okonkwo Tue Space Division Multiplexing for Ultra High Capacity Communications

SC 2: Discrete photonic devices and technologies

Speaker Affiliation Title
Keren Bergman Columbia University Reconfigurable Integrated Photonics for Massively Scaling AI Systems
Sonia Garcia Blanco Aluvia Photonics Rare-earth ion doped on-chip amplifiers in the Al2O3 platform
Matthew Peters Lumentum Performance , Reliability and Manufacturability of 1060nm VCSEL Arrays for AI Datacenter Scale-Up
Molly Piels Open Light Heterogeneously integrated lasers and EAMs
Tobias J. Kippenberg EPFL Thin film Lithium tantalate photonic integrated circuits for next generation high speed communications and lasers

SC 3: Photonic integrated circuits, assemblies and packaging

Speaker Affiliation Title
Kaoutar Benyahya Microsoft (To be announced)
Daniel Kuchta Nvidia Progress of High-speed VCSELs and VCSEL-based Co-Packaging for Short Reach Communications
Frederic Boeuf STM Microelectronics Advanced Industrial Silicon Photonics Platform on 300mm wafer for Optical Interconnect and Beyond
Lorenzo Pavesi University of Trento Microring Resonators as Neuromorphic Primitives for Optical Computing: Spiking Networks, Complex Perceptrons, and Photonic Preprocessing
Liangjun Lu Shanghai Jiao Tong University Heterogeneous Photonic Integration for High-Performance Communication and Computing

SC 4: Signal processing for optical communication and sensing

Speaker Affiliation Title
Hussam Batshon Nokia Advances in High-Spectral-Efficiency Formats: Modulation and Coding
Dario Piroli Politecnico Torino Digital Signal Processing for Longitudinal Power Monitoring and Nonlinear Interference Estimation
Andre Sandmann Andra Enhancing Telecommunications Network Availability through Infrastructure Protection with High-Spatial-Resolution Sensing
Yikai Su Shanghai Jiao Tong University Direct detection with high electrical spectral efficiency
Benedikt Geiger KIT Modeling and Mitigation of Equalization-Enhanced Phase Noise

SC 5: Optical transmission systems

Speaker Affiliation Title
Pascal Pecci META Technologies and Challenges for beyond Petabit Submarine Cable
Yang Hong Microsoft Hollow-Core Fiber Transmission Systems: From Metro to Long-Haul Applications
Shimpei Shimizu NTT Enabling technologies for long-haul ultra-wideband transmission utilizing extremely long wavelengths
Yuta Wakayama KDDI Scalable, High-Capacity Optical Transmission for AI Data Centre Networks
Fred Buchali Nokia Challenges of Terabit Rate Transmission Systems

SC 6: Core and metro networks

Speaker Affiliation Title
Patricia Layec Nokia Joint communication and multimodal sensing: opportunities and challenges
Lena Wosinka Chalmers Trade-offs of AI-based optical performance monitoring and sensing techniques
Periklis Petropoulos University of Southampton New opportunities in optical networks enabled by hollow-core fibres
Rentao Gu Beijing University of Post Intelligent Empowerment of Optical-Computation Synergy: Signal Processing and Resource Management for Multi-Band Optical Networks
Toru Manu NTT Automated Performance Optimization for Data Center Exchange over Open Optical Networks: Challenges and Future Perspectives

SC 7: Optical networks for access, mobile X-haul, in-building, and intra-datacentre interconnects

Speaker Affiliation Title
Jochen Maes Nokia Sensing in PON – techniques, use cases and the role of AI
Daniel Perez Ipronics Programmable silicon photonics switches in AI data centers
John D'Ambrosia Huawei Accelerating the Terabit Breakthrough: Defining the Future of Ultra-High-Speed Ethernet
Ivan Cano Huawei Research directions on Hybrid PON for Very High Speed-PON
Fan Xu Huawei Optical Access Networks evolution and transformation enabled by AI

SC 8: Sensing and microwave photonics

Speaker Affiliation Title
Jian Fang Nec Labs Advancing Forward-Transmission Fiber Sensing for Precise Event Localization
Withawat Withayachumnankul University of Adelaide Terahertz Integration for Next-Generation Sensing and Communication Systems
Thomas Schneider Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany Processing THz signals with GHz electronics
Antonio Mecozzi University of L'Aquila The Mediterranean as an Earth-Scale Geophysical Sensor: Polarization Sensing on Subsea Fiber Infrastructure
Radan Slavik Southampton Distributed measurement of hollow core optical fibres

SC 9: Free-space optics and optical wireless technologies

Speaker Affiliation Title
Jian Wu MIT (USA) Satellite to Ground FSO Communication Links enhanced by Mode Diversity Reception and Adaptive Optics
Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas University of Melbourne Optical Wireless Communications - Progress and Challenges
Steve Hranilovic McMaster University Perspectives on Optical Satellite Communication Systems - Technology and Applications
The Ngoc Dang Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology Atmospheric-aware design of FSO-enabled 6G non-terrestrial networks for tropical weather patterns
Shota Ishimura KDDI Free-space optical communication using photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers

SC 10: Control and management of optical networks

Speaker Affiliation Title
Annalisa Morea Nokia ROADM and AI: A Perfect Symbiosis for Autonomous Optical Networks
Italo Busi Huawei TDigital Twin, Agent and Artificial Intelligence towards ION-2030
Bodhisattwa Gangopadhyay Meta The Role of Optics in Next-Generation Multi-Gigawatt Datacenters
Jiawei Zhang BUPT Optical networks for AI: the challenge and optimization for LLM training and inference across datacenters
Massimo Tornatore Politecnico di Milano Co-LLMs and Optical Networks: A Symbiotic Relationship

SC 11: Quantum communications, physical layer security and optical quantum technologies

Speaker Affiliation Title
Ulrik Andersen DTU Quantum Advantage with Optical Systems
Yunhong Ding DTU Thin-film lithium niobate for quantum photonics: perspectives and challenges
Mirko Pittaluga Wavephotonics LTD Practical quantum communications in deployed optical telecom networks
Elizaveta Semenova   Engineering Deterministic Quantum Light Sources at Telecom Wavelengths
Samuele Grandi ICFO A quantum internet based on solid-state quantum nodes

CLEO® Special Session on Emerging Trends in Optics and Photonics

Speaker Affiliation Title
Roberto Morandotti INRS Canada Frequency and time integrated photonics: quantum and neuromorphic applications
Carlos Ramos Paris Saclay Harnessing nonlinear and optomechanical phenomena in silicon nanostructures
Jens Schmid CNRS Canada Metamaterial integrated photonics for light coupling, beam steering and spectral filtering
Andy Knights McMaster University The development of avalanche photodetectors for silicon photonics
Joan Ramirez Nokia Recent progress on III-V on Si photonic transmitters
Camille Bres EPFL Sputtered AlN buffer layer for low loss crystalline AlN on sapphire integrated photonic
Segolène Olivier CEA Leti Photonic integrated circuits on SOI and SiN for quantum communications and quantum computing
Scott B. Papp NIST Flattop soliton microcombs for low power optical data links
Hoe Tan Australian National University III-V nanostructures for lasers and quantum emitters