Oisolution Signs MOU with Lightron for Joint Development of 25Gbps-Class Optical Transceivers

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Global optical transceiver specialist Oisolution announced on the 16th that it has signed a strategic business agreement (MOU) with Lightron for the joint development of 25Gbps-class tunable wavelength optical transceivers.

Oisolution is the leading domestic company in developing, manufacturing, and selling optical transceivers. Optical transceivers are components that convert electrical signals to optical signals and vice versa in optical communication devices, and are considered key components in building communication infrastructure such as 5G.

The two companies will cooperate on ensuring compatibility between their products and technology exchange for commercialization. The main area of cooperation is compatibility and technology exchange related to wavelength setting of each company’s DWDM modules. This involves DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology applied in mobile front-haul and metro networks.

An Oisolution official said, “It is unusual that the first and second ranked domestic optical transceiver companies, which are competitors, are forming a continuous mutual cooperation system for the development, joint patent application, and compatibility assurance of 25Gbps-class tunable wavelength modules, which are monopolized by only two to three companies worldwide including overseas. This will serve as a stepping stone to explore various other fields where the two companies can cooperate, and is expected to become a good example of the optical communication industry growing through mutual cooperation.”

A Lightron official stated, “By cooperating, we unified the software operation methods to enable mixed use of each other’s products, and confirmed development and compatibility through months of collaboration. We plan to leverage the results of this cooperative development to launch products and expand market share domestically and internationally, and actively cooperate in patent disputes and defenses through joint patent applications.”

The 25Gbps-class tunable wavelength optical transceiver requires the development of complex optical functions to allow selection of desired wavelengths, making its development more challenging than general optical transceivers. Currently, two to three global leading companies monopolize the optical transceiver market.

Tunable wavelength optical transceivers have the feature of allowing selection of desired wavelengths. Compared to general optical transceivers that require inventory for each wavelength, tunable wavelength transceivers can reduce inventory and flexibly change network connections, leading to expected demand growth driven by continuous network advancement.