Oi Solution, a specialist company in optical transceivers, is set to actively export tunable optical transceivers, a key component for network expansion in the artificial intelligence (AI) era, to the United States.
Oi Solution announced on the 20th that it recently secured a mass production order worth 2.5 billion KRW for tunable optical transceivers from a major customer in the U.S. wired network market.
After successfully developing tunable optical transceivers in July last year, becoming the third company worldwide to do so, Oi Solution completed customer product approval, including field tests in the U.S. wired network, by the end of January this year.
Optical transceivers are components designed to efficiently meet the demand for large-capacity data transmission as the AI era arrives. The construction of optical communication networks using optical transceivers is necessary for 5G, 6G communication services, and quantum cryptography communication.
Until now, network expansion required the use of fixed optical transceivers for each wavelength, but Oi Solution’s tunable optical transceiver supports 96 wavelengths in a single product, allowing users to select the desired wavelength. This feature reduces the burden on communication service providers by eliminating the need to stock transceivers for each wavelength and enables flexible network connections.
Previously, tunable optical transceivers were developed and monopolized only by Coherent and Lumentum, the world’s top two optical transceiver companies. With Oi Solution’s recent mass production order, significant sales growth is expected.
Oi Solution anticipates improved performance as major U.S. telecom companies and cable TV providers embark on large-scale optical network construction. Although the company experienced a sales decline due to reduced investment in 5G networks, its main revenue source, it has worked to diversify its sales portfolio and customer base. Starting this year, Oi Solution plans to actively enter the larger network market, including tunable optical transceivers and Coherent large-capacity long-distance optical transceivers, beyond the wireless network market.
The United States is preparing to launch the "Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program," investing $42.45 billion (approximately 61.544 trillion KRW) by 2030 to build ultra-high-speed broadband networks. The tunable optical transceiver market in the U.S. cable TV sector has formed an annual market worth 250 billion KRW. It is projected to grow into a 1 trillion KRW market over five years from 2025 to 2029.
Vice President Won Ki Lee stated, "Oi Solution has secured more than 30 domestic and international patents, including core technologies for tunable laser chip design and manufacturing processes, and has established a production system. Our product competitiveness is high, and we have laid the foundation to expand to 25G-class tunable optical transceivers."
He added, "Since our current production capacity (CAPA) is insufficient compared to the quantity demanded by customers, this order was placed for ramp-up purposes to stabilize and advance mass production. We are in the final stages of negotiations for multi-year export contracts with customers, including for 2026 and 2027," he emphasized.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
