NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) has started international sales of a 25G tunable SFP extended reach optical transceiver equipped with a tunable laser that improves transmission distance from the 15km of conventional products to 40km, one of the longest transmission distances in the industry. The transceiver also enables reductions in both installation and maintenance costs, which helps to meet the demand for expanding 5G mobile network and access network areas.

The new product uses NEC's original silicon photonics optical modulator to reduce the effects of wavelength dispersion, a characteristic of optical fiber that has limited the transmission distance of previous products. In addition, by adopting an electrical dispersion compensation (EDC) receiver circuit that compensates for waveform distortion, the transmission distance has been increased to 40km, 2.6 times that of the conventional product.

Furthermore, by maintaining a power consumption of 2.5W, which is the same as that of the 15km product, it is possible to introduce this new transceiver into the same SFP port as before, allowing for flexible upgrades.

In addition, the transceiver is compatible with wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and can transmit up to 50 wavelengths multiplexed onto a single optical fiber, enabling significant reductions in optical fiber costs. It also has a tunable laser and can handle all 50 wavelengths with a single unit. This means that there is no need to prepare individual optical transceivers for each wavelength, making it possible to reduce inventory and maintenance costs.

Features of the new product include the following:

Reduces the effects of wavelength dispersion to achieve long-distance transmission

NEC has developed a new optical modulator that reduces the effects of wavelength dispersion using silicon photonics technology. In addition, by incorporating an EDC that electrically compensates for waveform distortion caused by wavelength dispersion in the receiver, the transmission distance has been extended to 40km.

Connection with existing equipment is possible

It has a power consumption of 2.5W, which is the same as the 15km product, and can be easily introduced into existing SFP ports that accommodate the existing product. The electrical interface is also compatible with the existing product, and transmission up to 40km is possible simply by introducing the new transceiver.

Achieving a cost-efficient network

This product supports WDM networks with up to 50 wavelengths. Since 50 wavelengths can be transmitted over a single fiber, the efficiency of fiber use is high, reducing fiber costs. In addition, since the wavelength can be set freely using a tunable laser, there is no need to prepare individual optical transceivers for each wavelength, reducing inventory and maintenance costs. The tunable laser is made possible by NEC's unique silicon photonics technology, and is integrated with the optical modulator described above.

Automatic wavelength setting function for easy implementation

The transceiver communicates with the opposing optical transceiver and is equipped with a self-tuning function that automatically sets the wavelength, so the wavelength setting is completed with the optical transceiver alone. Since it does not require control from the host, no additional work is required when installing it in network equipment.

In the years ahead, data traffic is expected to increase even more due to the spread of AI and video distribution services, and it is predicted that demand from users who require high-speed communication will also increase. For this reason, it is important to achieve further area expansion of 5G mobile networks and high-speed access networks at low cost.

The 25G tunable SFP extended reach optical transceiver is a product that meets these market needs.

"More than 2 million units of short reach (SR) and long reach (LR) 25G transceivers were shipped in 2024, replacing 10G connectivity in enterprise and access networks. We expect that extended reach (ER) (40km) transceivers will account for 5% of the total shipments of 25G transceivers in 2025-2030, reaching close to 2 million units over the forecast period," said Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and Chief Analyst of LightCounting.

"NEC has developed a transformative 25G tunable SFP solution, pushing the boundaries of extended reach to 40km," said Takashi Sato, Corporate Senior Vice President at NEC. "This achievement was made possible by NEC’s proprietary silicon photonics modulator and state-of-the-art dispersion compensation techniques, specifically tailored to address the needs of extended reach for mobile and access networks."

Going forward, NEC will continue to expand its lineup of optical transceiver products based on silicon photonics technology, which has the advantage of low power consumption and low cost, in order to meet the growing demand for data traffic.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com. 

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