Insights
ECOC 2026: 6.4T NPO, 2nm DSP and 448G PAM4 Sourcing
INDUSTRY NEWS · OPTICAL INTERCONNECT · SEPTEMBER 2026
ECOC 2026 closed in Málaga on 23 September with 6.4T near-packaged optics, 2nm DSP and 448G-per-lane signalling all on the show floor — while a market report published the same week reminded buyers that retimed pluggables still ship in far greater volume. Here is what actually changed, and what belongs in a specification now.
The European Conference on Optical Communication is not a consumer show, but the September 2026 edition in Málaga functioned as one for anyone buying optical interconnect. Four suppliers used the same three days to push per-lane rates to 400G, module-level bandwidth past 3.2T, and optical links inside the package. The useful question for a sourcing team is narrower than the headline numbers: which of these parts can be quoted, sampled and shipped in the next twelve months, and which are still engineering demonstrations.
What was actually shown
| Supplier | Announcement | Why it matters to buyers |
|---|---|---|
| HG Genuine | Live demonstration of a 6.4T near-packaged optics (NPO) optical engine and a 3.2T module built on 400G-per-lane signalling — the first European showing | NPO has moved from slideware to traffic-carrying demonstrations; Chinese supply is present at the leading edge |
| Coherent | Pluggable optical line system with full C-band amplification inside a QSFP package: up to 32 DWDM wavelengths per fiber pair, 25.6 Tbps over 2–200 km, 21 dBm output | Amplification moves into the module slot, changing line-side bill of materials for metro and DCI links |
| Marvell | 2nm optical interconnect: 400G-per-lane PAM4, 800G ZR/ZR+ pluggable with MACsec, 1.6T ZR, O-band light coherent, and a 102.4 Tbps co-packaged optics platform | DSP generation and link security become selection criteria, not just reach and power |
| MACOM | 3.2T front-end chipset: eight channels at 448 Gbps PAM4, integrating TIA, PIN photodiodes and laser drivers from one vendor | Single-vendor transmit and receive silicon shortens qualification and reduces multi-source risk |
| Lumentum, Qualcomm, Corning | Joint board-level demonstration of 1060 nm VCSEL die-to-die optical interconnect using multimode fiber, aimed at CPO and NPO architectures and UCIe-class interfaces | Optics is moving from rack-to-rack into chip-to-chip; short-reach multimode demand could return |
Pluggable or NPO? The shipment data answers it
LightCounting’s quarterly report, summarised by Chinese trade media on 22 September, is the counterweight to the exhibition narrative. NPO dominated discussions at CIOE, yet retimed pluggable modules are still setting shipment records: Ethernet optics account for roughly 80% of market sales, and linear-drive pluggable contributions remain limited. The report also flags that “legacy” 800G 2xDR4/2xFR4 and 400ZR/ZR+ volumes rose sharply in Q2, with unit shipments up to three times higher year on year, and notes Oracle’s quarterly capital expenditure of USD 28.5 billion, up 235% year on year, as a driver of that demand.
Read together, the exhibition and the market data describe a two-track market: pluggable retimed modules carry the revenue today; NPO and CPO carry the roadmap. A sourcing plan that commits volume to near-packaged optics before the pluggable line has been qualified is taking technology risk without a cost benefit yet.
Optical Transceivers & Modules →
Where the supply chain is opening up
The quieter announcement of the week may matter more over a five-year horizon. SMART Photonics and GlobalFoundries launched what they describe as the first open-access foundry service combining a silicon platform with high-volume indium phosphide photonic integrated circuits, including lasers and modulators, integrated through flip-chip bonding. Joint engineering has run for more than a year to solve die-size matching and coupling efficiency; volume availability is targeted for the second half of 2027.
For buyers, open access to a combined silicon-and-InP flow means the number of credible optical engine suppliers should grow rather than shrink. It also raises a new due-diligence requirement: knowing which foundry and which bonding process produced a module, not only which company assembled it.
What to put in the specification now
- Fix the lane rate and the module class. State whether the requirement is 200G, 400G or 448G per lane, and whether the module must be retimed, LPO or an NPO engine. The three are not interchangeable in a rack design.
- Ask for power per bit, not power per module. At 3.2T and above, the comparison that survives qualification is pJ/bit at the operating temperature range, measured on the customer’s traffic profile.
- Require the security and management feature set explicitly. MACsec, telemetry and firmware update paths now differ between DSP generations; assume nothing from a previous part number.
- Specify the fiber plant with the module. Coherent’s 25.6 Tbps figure is a claim about a fiber pair with 32 DWDM channels; a module quote without the matching fiber, connector and amplification plan is incomplete.
- Get the roadmap in writing, with dates. For NPO and CPO candidates, ask for the qualification gate dates, not the announcement date, and treat pre-qualification parts as samples.
- Plan dual sourcing across architectures. Qualify a pluggable path and an NPO path in parallel so that a platform decision does not become a single-supplier decision.
Sourcing optical transceivers and fiber assemblies from China?
TUOLAN TRADE helps overseas buyers convert a link budget into a specifiable module and fiber specification, screen suppliers on test data rather than catalogue claims, and coordinate samples, inspection records and export delivery. Send your requirement to sales@tuolango.com.
Sources and disclosure
Figures are compiled from public internet sources dated September 2026: Fiber Optics Online (c-fol.net) reporting on HG Genuine, Coherent, MACOM, Marvell and SMART Photonics announcements at ECOC 2026 in Málaga; and C114 reporting LightCounting’s quarterly optical module market commentary. Bandwidth, reach and power figures are the suppliers’ published claims and are not independently verified here. Product availability dates are vendor statements and may change. Editorial analysis and sourcing guidance in this article are our own assessment, not vendor or government guidance. TUOLAN TRADE is not affiliated with any company mentioned; company and product names belong to their respective owners.