NXTcomm, Day One

On the first day of NXTcomm, it’s surprising to see how much activity there is among exhibitors at the show. In years past, vendors without new gear to tout at the industry’s big summer show might have trumpeted customer wins or future strategy directions. But this year, there’s a surprising amount of new products on the floor. It’s almost easier to name the vendors that aren’t unveiling new gear at the show (or shortly before it).

At least four vendors are unveiling new gigabit passive optical networking (GPON) products, including Alloptic, Calix, Wave7 Optics and Zhone Technologies. It’s no surprise GPON is a hot topic on the show floor, since Verizon is deploying its second commercial GPON market this summer, with plans to transition from BPON to GPON over time thereafter. And AT&T named its chosen GPON suppliers just before the show, about a year and a half after issuing the request for proposal.

Optical vendors are introducing plenty of new products further upstream in the network as well, including folks you don’t often hear new product news from, like Sycamore Networks. And new advancements in reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADM) are another theme in this year’s exhibitor news.

Video services are also getting the spotlight treatment at NXTcomm, with a battery of panel discussions and other programming meant to educate carriers on how to find new revenue streams in their video traffic.

It’s hard to keep up with all the activity among exhibitors and attendees seen at NXTcomm these past few days. Oh wait. Today is only the first day, isn’t it?