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IOWN Global Forum and Open Source - Key Enablers for Next Decade#

Open Networking & Edge Summit 2025 digest Program Core pick 31 March 2025

Abstract Recording

Masahisa Kawashima, NTT Corporation

Play the recording: IOWN Global Forum and Open Source - Key Enablers for Next Decade

  • Why: IOWN is one of the few serious large-scale programs pushing integrated photonics into compute and network infrastructure — photonics-based DC interconnect, high-capacity optical I/O, and energy-efficient transport. For a PM whose core is optics and physical DC/WAN systems, this is a rare look at where the optical roadmaps of a major operator actually intersect open source.
  • What: A roadmap talk on NTT's Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) architecture and, importantly, how IOWN is now partnering with open source communities — LFN, LF Edge, and OPI — to integrate open source software into the IOWN platform (from abstract only).
  • How: Not a technique talk: the mechanism is cross-organizational — the IOWN Global Forum defines the photonic architecture requirements, and the partnerships with LFN/LF Edge/OPI are intended to supply the open software layer (orchestration, provisioning, DPU-adjacent compute interfaces) around it.
  • Where applicable: NTT/IOWN-specific architecture, but the open-source integration point matters broadly — OPI in particular covers DPU/accelerator provisioning standards, which has cross-industry applicability. Expect vision and roadmap depth, not deployment results.