Acacia Communications and NTT Electronics Announce Testing to Demonstrate Interoperability Between OpenZR+ Coherent DSPs

Interoperability paves the way for the development of OpenZR+ modules in a QSFP-DD or OSFP form factor that support performance and functionality beyond 400ZR


MAYNARD, Mass. and YOKOHAMA, Japan, Sept. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acacia Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACIA), a leading provider of high-speed coherent optical interconnect products, and NTT Electronics, Co. (NEL), a leading supplier of coherent Digital Signal Processor (DSP) solutions to system and module manufacturers worldwide, today announced that they have completed testing to demonstrate interoperability between OpenZR+ coherent DSPs by exchanging test vectors. The OpenZR+ mode leverages elements from both 400ZR and OpenROADM industry standardization efforts, both of which appear to be gaining industry momentum. The OpenZR+ implementation was designed to enable enhanced functionality and improved performance in pluggable form factors, such as QSFP-DD and OSFP, in order to support multi-vendor interoperability.  The 400ZR effort driven by the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), is focused on data center interconnects (DCIs), while the OpenROADM effort is focused on carrier applications.  Acacia and NEL will be sharing interoperability results between their OpenZR+ enabled DSPs at the 45th European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) on September 22-26 in Dublin, Ireland.

“We believe that the availability of merchant DSP solutions supporting OpenZR+ will be a significant milestone by helping to expand the use cases for interoperable coherent pluggable modules in a QSFP-DD or OSFP form factor,” said Tom Williams, Vice President of Marketing at Acacia Communications. “OpenZR+ was designed to combine the focus on ethernet traffic of 400ZR, the performance of the OpenROADM specification, and multi-vendor interoperability in order to provide network operators with an operationally efficient solution for DCI applications with reaches beyond 120km.”

“The enhanced functionality and improved performance of OpenZR+ was designed to allow network operators to address a wide range of applications using this interoperable solution,” said Atul Srivastava, CTO at NTT Electronics America. “By exchanging test vectors with Acacia, we are helping to enable network operators to move forward with increased confidence that multiple module vendors will be supporting the OpenZR+ ecosystem.”

About OpenZR+
The OpenZR+ mode maintains the simpler ethernet-only host interface of 400ZR, but adds support for multi-rate Ethernet and multiplexing capabilities at 100G, 200G, 300G or 400G line interfaces with higher dispersion tolerance and higher coding gain using openFEC selected for standardization by the OpenROADM MSA and CableLabs.

For a more detailed explanation of OpenZR+ and its growing momentum please refer to the Optical Connections Magazine contributed article titled “OpenZR+ Offers Performance and Interoperability.”

About Acacia Communications
Acacia Communications develops, manufactures and sells high-speed coherent optical interconnect products that are designed to transform communications networks through improvements in performance, capacity and cost. By implementing optical interconnect technology in a silicon-based platform, a process Acacia Communications refers to as the "siliconization of optical interconnect," Acacia Communications is able to offer products at higher speeds and density with lower power consumption, that meet the needs of cloud and service providers and can be easily integrated in a cost-effective manner with existing network equipment.  For more information about Acacia, visit www.acacia-inc.com or follow on Twitter at @AcaciaComms.

About NTT Electronics
NTT Electronics (NEL) has been developing and commercializing optical communications devices since 1995. It has a complete portfolio of optical and electronics products to cover the industry needs for 100G-and-beyond link systems, ROADM components and FTTH networks. Since 2012 NEL has been delivering its advanced coherent DSPs that have been widely adopted in the industry. NEL is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan with offices in Millan, Italy, Saddle Brook, NJ, San Jose, CA, and Shenzhen, China. For more information about NEL, visit www.ntt-electronics.com/en/.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes statements concerning Acacia Communications and its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “will” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to help you identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements.  Acacia Communications has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the Company’s expectations around industry momentum related to, and market adoption of, 400ZR and OpenROADM industry standardization efforts, the ability of the OpenZR+ implementation to enable enhanced functionality and improved performance in pluggable form factors, to support multi-vendor interoperability and to provide operationally efficient solutions for DCI applications , and other risks set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2019 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2019, and in other filings that the Company may make with the SEC in the future. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as indicative of future events. Acacia Communications assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Public Relations Contact:
Kelly Karr
Acacia Communications
Office: (408) 718-9350
Email: PR@acacia-inc.com

Kaz Kitagawa
NTT Electronics America
Office: (201) 556-1770
Email: PR@nel-america.com

Acacia Investor Relations Contact:
Monica Gould
Office: (212) 871-3927
Email: IR@acacia-inc.com

Lindsay Savarese
Office: (212) 331-8417
Email: IR@acacia-inc.com

The Acacia name and logo and the Acacia logo are registered trademarks of Acacia Communications, Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries.  All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.