Lightera partnered with Oki Electric Industry and Keio University on what was described as the world’s first demonstration of a next-generation optical line using hollow-core fiber (HCF).

The demonstration was conducted at Keio University’s Future Photonic Network Open Lab under a Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications-backed research project. According to the companies, the setup combined Oki’s prototype optical line system with HCF developed by Lightera Group’s Japanese arm. The deployment entailed a single-fiber bidirectional wideband wavelength-division multiplexing transmission ranging from 1.26 micrometers to 1.58 micrometers.

The trial confirmed lower power consumption when switching transmission systems depending on the optical wavelength used. Upon commercialization, the method is expected to reduce wasted power to one-tenth of current electricity consumption while meeting increasing traffic demands from key drivers such as generative AI, digital twins, remote work, and ultra-high definition video.

Tokyo-headquartered ICT player Oki added it would research HCF use cases in conjunction with 100 Gb/s (100G) passive optical network (PON) systems and the all-photonic network (APN) efforts spearheaded by telecom giant NTT through the operator's Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) venture.

Lightera will similarly advance HCF technologies, including related peripheral tech, with an eye on mass production through more work at the Keio University facility.

The partners added their exploration of low-latency transmissions are part of a government push to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Lightera’s Asian venture follows a similar project in Latin America, where it partnered with Scala Data Centers and Nokia for what was claimed to be the region’s first successful test of HCF technology.

Unlike conventional optical fiber, which transmits light through glass, hollow-core fiber guides light through an air-filled core, reducing transmission delay as light travels faster through air than silica. The technology has attracted attention for future high-capacity backbone, metro, and data-center interconnect deployments, with developments from the likes of Viavi Solutions and Microsoft.