Message from The Chairperson
The Chairperson of the Photonic Internet Forum (PIF)
Optical fiber communication systems have advanced rapidly due to innovative technologies such as optical fibers, semiconductor lasers, and optical fiber amplifiers, and millionfold increase in the capacity of optical communication systems has been achieved in the last for decades. From the 2000s to the 2010s, the Internet and smartphones have rapidly spread worldwide. Those days, photonic network technology such as wavelength routers as well as large-capacity transmission technology contributed to the efficient use of ICT and the digitalization in our society. We believe that PIF has played an important role in these leading research and research and development for practical use.
Currently, we are facing the urgent issue of global warming. To meet such global requirements, power consumption has been significantly reduced by direct optical amplification in repeaters and all optical routing in switching nodes in optical communication systems. In the Beyond 5G/6G era, it is important to promote research and development that can achieve both sustainable capacity expansion of photonic networks that accommodate the rapidly increasing mobile traffic and the realization of carbon neutrality, and we believe that this is also the social mission of PIF.
The PIF is a non-profit consortium of experts of private companies, universities, research institutes, and the government, and conducts activities such as examining future research and development directions, investigating and researching international technology trends, exchanging information among members of the consortium, widely disseminating and raising awareness to the public, and contributing to standardization. PIF aims to contribute to the development of information and communication technology in Japan and around the world. I would like to ask for your active support in maintaining and strengthening Japan's R&D capabilities for the next generation.