The exhibit floor at OFC 2020 in San Diego opened today. Reports from sources in attendance (Lightwave’s editor isn’t at the show) report the floor was quiet at the start. Meanwhile, the event’s organizers have made the technical sessions available via video conferencing.
The printed show guide for the exhibition contains a list of 181 booth cancellations, which the event organizers indicate was accurate as of March 2. That number includes instances of companies having multiple booths, as well as a few cancellations along the lines of the OFC Asia Pacific Lounge.
Nevertheless, a pared down schedule of exhibit hall programming was expected to take place, although in some instances with a somewhat different speaker lineup than originally planned. These on-floor sessions March 10 included the Market Watch’s State of the Industry Panel (which appears to be the only Market Watch panel expected to take place), a session on “Embedded Optics and How They Should be Implemented to Support the OEM Eco-system” as part of the Intra and Inter Data Center Connectivity program, and “5G Architectures and Service Considerations,” which is part of the Infrastructure Makeover and Networking program. As previously reported, the “Celebrating 50 Years of Light-speed Connections” events are taking place as scheduled today as well.
Meanwhile, the event organizers have sent conference attendees who are unable to travel to San Diego links to sessions that can be attended via video conferencing. The technical sessions, including workshops, panels, the Rump Session, and the Postdeadline Papers session, can be accessed in this manner. Plenary Session, as well as David Welch's keynote for the 50-year program, will be presented via live streaming.
[Editor's note: This article has been amended to clarify the use of video conferencing versus live streaming.]
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.