Ribbon Blog

Why AI Driven Automation Can’t Wait

dedmonds — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:09:17 +0000

dedmonds Mon, 03/23/2026 - 11:09

Operators today are navigating unprecedented complexity—rising costs, accelerating customer expectations, and increasingly dynamic networks. In this recent video interview, my colleague Kevin Wade and I explore why AI‑driven automation has shifted from a “nice‑to‑have” technology to a core business requirement for telecom operators and beyond.

The discussion covers how modern AIOps platforms are helping customers move toward autonomous operations, reduce OPEX, improve resilience, and unlock new growth opportunities, in addition to sharing real‑world examples and insights from operators already seeing measurable impact.

I encourage you to watch the full interview to hear what we’re seeing in the market and where AI‑powered automation is headed next.

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Re-Inventing Network Operations: Are AI Extensions the Right Path?

dedmonds — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 15:57:38 +0000

dedmonds Tue, 03/17/2026 - 10:57

For decades, telecom network operations have depended on traditional OSS tools – complex, services-heavy platforms that take years to modernize and even longer to deliver measurable business impact. This year at MWC, the leading OSS vendors showcased a variety of new AI extensions for their portfolios and marketed them as the fastest path to autonomous network operations. They are not.

For telecom executives, the real opportunity is far more disruptive: adopting an AI-native platform that combines

Cross-domain observability
Real-time data analytics
Agentic AIOps
Automation

This is not another OSS upgrade. It is embracing AI-driven automation to fill the gaps in existing OSS tools and reinvent network operations.

The Problem with OSS AI Extensions

Traditional OSS vendors are retrofitting AI into architectures that were never designed for real-time intelligence. They’re adding chatbots and MCP interfaces to legacy tools and introducing new agentic AI-based overlay augmentations that will eventually tie everything together. This approach promises an amazing evolution, but in practice, it results in risky, multi-year transformation programs that rely on complex, customized system integrations.

The results?

The need to fully integrate across multiple applications for the agentic layer to access key data
- Creating dependence on API depth, potentially limiting real-time performance and decision-making
- Requiring expensive professional services
Numerous software license updates, which drive up maintenance costs and delay ROI.
Modest, incremental efficiency gains instead of significant business outcome improvements.

New OSS AI extensions cannot fundamentally change operations because these capabilities still sit atop multiple layers of systems and data models built for swivel-chair, reactive processes, not for real-time, autonomous decision-making.

Ribbon Acumen, the AI-Native Alternative for OSS

Ribbon’s Acumen platform starts with a different premise: real-time data analytics as the foundation for agentic AI-driven automation, not an afterthought.

Cross-domain observability and robust data analytics are at Acumen’s core – providing real-time ingestion, enrichment, and analysis of telemetry, events, logs, topology, performance, security, and application data from any mix of network devices and existing systems. Instead of siloed domains, our customers gain a unified, streaming data layer (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Acumen’s Approach to Autonomous Network Operations Leveraging Real-time Data

Low-code/No-code AIOps Customization

Acumen Builder, our intuitive, AIOps workflow engine, sits on top of this foundation of real-time observability and analytics and leverages:

Machine learning for anomaly detection, prediction, and optimization
Generative AI to contextualize issues and guide operational processes
Agentic AI to create and autonomously execute closed-loop AIOps workflows

This is where the model shifts.

From Multiple Dashboards to Autonomous Network Operations Workflows

In traditional environments, operations teams pivot between dashboards, swivel across tools, and manually coordinate key operational processes, including remediation. With existing OSS, even “automated” workflows are siloed and pre-scripted because they aren’t based on real-time data.

As an AI-native platform, Acumen enables more dynamic, context-aware automation. Our VP of Systems Architecture for Acumen, Chip Boyle, showcased Acumen’s autonomous networking and predictive maintenance approach to customers at MWC last week. As Chip demonstrated, cross-domain degradation can be detected in seconds. The root cause can be analyzed and correlated across network, cloud, and IT layers in minutes. From there, an automated operational workflow can remediate the issue in a closed loop.

For our customers, this translates directly into measurable outcomes:

Faster mean time to repair (MTTR) and reduced operational expense
Improved service availability and SLA compliance
A better customer experience and lower churn
Accelerated service introduction and monetization

These aren’t just incremental efficiency improvements; they’re the foundation for structural change.

Speed to Business Value

Perhaps the most important distinction is speed.

Multi-year OSS transformation programs consume capital before producing results. They heavily rely on custom integrations, professional services, and phased migrations. By the time they stabilize, the business requirements have often shifted.

As an AI-native, multi-vendor platform, Ribbon Acumen is built on open APIs and real-time data. It can overlay existing systems and begin delivering value within months versus years. This solution does not require a rip-and-replace. Instead, it can help operators fill gaps in their deployed OSS tools and gradually reduce their operational necessity.

This approach, combined with Acumen’s intuitive low-code/no-code user interface, enables a radically different investment strategy:

Lower upfront dependency on services
Faster time-to-automation
Step-by-step autonomous network evolution that is aligned with business priorities
Measurable ROI tied to operational KPIs

For telecom executives under pressure to demonstrate the impact of AI-driven automation while protecting margins, the choice is clear: prioritize AI extensions to existing OSS tools and accept modest incremental gains, long timelines, and services-heavy programs. Or adopt an AI-native platform like Acumen that unifies observability, real-time analytics, and low-code/no-code agentic AIOps into an automated operational fabric that delivers faster business outcomes, lower operational costs, and a sustainable competitive advantage.

The next generation of network operations will not be built by upgrading yesterday’s OSS tools. It will be realized by reinventing the operating model altogether.

Explore Acumen Solutions

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Maximizing Subsea Capacity with Programmable 140Gbaud Transmission

dedmonds — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:43:26 +0000

dedmonds Fri, 03/13/2026 - 12:43

Maximizing Capacity Over Speed

While the race to expand networking infrastructure to support AI applications continues on land, the same expansion is occurring undersea. Subsea cables spanning Earth’s oceans must evolve to keep pace.

In November 2025, Ribbon Communications announced the successful optical transmission of an impressive 20Tbps over the 10,000km JUNO trans-Pacific cable. This field trial was performed in conjunction with Seren Juno, the cable operator. The JUNO cable system, which connects Japan and the United States, is currently the largest capacity operational trans-Pacific cable system. The cable is designed to handle a total of 360Tbps, consisting of leading-edge space division multiplexing (SDM) technology utilizing 20 fiber pairs. 20Tbps is also the capacity that Ribbon is delivering to Moratelindo over its 1,055km Jakarta-Singapore link, as was also announced in 2025. Notably, actual capacities surpassed 20Tbps; however, the reported values include a margin for safety and reliability.

These achievements were enabled by Ribbon’s Apollo optical networking system, which includes transponder cards powered by Acacia’s CIM 8 pluggable transceiver, featuring advanced 140GBaud coherent technology. These transponders support flexible modulation ranging from 400Gbps to 1.2Tbps per wavelength, designed to optimize performance tailored to the specific characteristics of each cable.

An interesting aspect of the headlines is that they emphasize a 20Tbps capacity rather than a maximum line rate, which is typical of optical transmission announcements. This distinction arises from the unique nature of submarine optical transmission. In terrestrial applications, the line rate serves as the principal metric because landline networks focus on optimizing speed and can augment capacity by adding more fibers—a process that is relatively straightforward.

Subsea applications are constrained by the limited number of fibers available within submarine cables, and installing these cables is extremely expensive. While line rate remains relevant, overall fiber capacity is the primary metric. The goal is to maximize capacity with the best economics.

Framework for Maximizing Capacity

Below we discuss how Ribbon targets maximum capacity using Acacia’s CIM 8 programmable 140Gbaud transceiver. Its advanced Jannu DSP technology leverages multiple capabilities to cost-effectively maximize subsea fiber capacity, for any distance and fiber condition.

Figure 1 illustrates the framework for maximizing subsea fiber transmission capacity. This is based on two components: maximizing spectral efficiency and mitigating the effects of transmission impairments.

Figure 1 – Framework for maximizing submarine fiber transmission capacity

Maximizing Spectral Efficiency

Spectral efficiency refers to how efficiently a given allocation of spectral bandwidth is used to transmit data reliably, within acceptable BER (bit error rate) limits.

In subsea data transmission, a technique to enhance spectral efficiency is to eliminate the common practice of assigning each wavelength to its own channel, where a guard band exists between the wavelength and the channel edges. This protective spacing is needed in terrestrial networks to prevent wavelengths from interfering with each other when they pass through multiple nodes and are switched with wavelengths from other fibers. However, subsea transmission is essentially one long point-to-point connection. The coherent wavelengths can be placed close to each other in a single multi-carrier channel, allowing more wavelengths to fit within an assigned wide spectrum window, increasing spectral efficiency.

Figure 2 – Examples of multi-carrier submarine channels with inferior and excellent spectral efficiency

Still, there are degrees of how well this can be performed. Figure 2 shows examples of submarine single multi-carrier channels comparing inferior and excellent spectral efficiency. Inferior spectral efficiency is characterized by wavelengths with rounded roll offs and poor use of their allocated spectral width. In contrast, excellent spectral efficiency features wavelengths with sharp spectral roll offs that nearly occupy all of their assigned spectrum, leaving almost no unused “white space” in the multi-carrier channel. The extra energy in a sharper-shaped spectrum means a higher signal to noise ratio, which can translate to more data being transmitted (higher modulation order) with the same BER.

The CIM 8 transceiver delivers excellent spectral efficiency. It uses second generation 3D Shaping technology to optimize line rate and reach for network operators with up to 20% higher spectral efficiency over the previous generation. It achieves this by combining programmatic controls for continuous baud rate, continuous modulation with enhanced probability constellation shaping (PCS) algorithms, and spectral roll-off shaping.

As shown in Figure 3, CIM 8 shapes the wavelengths to maximize spectral efficiency. They are tightly packed together with a sharp roll off and fill their spectral slots almost completely.

Figure 3 – CIM 8 with Gen2 3D Shaping delivers excellent spectral efficiency

Mitigating Transmission Impairments

Although practical maximum spectral efficiency can be achieved, transmission impairments inherent to coherent optical transmission can still degrade the bit error rate (BER) on subsea links. CIM 8 employs a suite of proprietary, power-efficient algorithms designed to address all primary sources of transmission impairment, including:

Dispersion and polarization related effects, including chromatic dispersion, polarization mode dispersion, and polarization dependent loss
Non-linear effects
Equalization-enhanced phase noise (EEPN)

By maximizing practical spectral efficiency and addressing transmission impairments, CIM 8 delivers practical maximum submarine fiber capacity.

A Word About Baud Rate

As we just discussed, the CIM 8 with a continuous baud rate up to 140Gbaud delivers outstanding submarine transmission and capacity performance. In comparison with other high baud rate solutions, there are two points worth noting:

A higher baud rate does not immediately translate to better spectral efficiency. Whether the transceiver is at 140Gbaud or 200Gbaud, this class of transceivers operates at the edge of the Shannon limit. This means that although 200Gbaud supports higher capacity per wavelength, it necessitates a proportional increase in spectrum allocation to achieve this. Therefore, there is no improvement in spectral efficiency.
A higher baud rate does not inherently offer lower costs. Commercially available technologies in the 200Gbaud range rely on indium phosphide and thin film lithium niobate technologies, a relatively expensive solution due to not being in a mature high-volume production state. These higher rate technologies may use multiple packages that are connected via electrical flex cable interfaces, which typically present lower reliability.

In contrast, CIM 8 140Gbaud utilizes mature silicon photonics technology similar to that used in high-volume ZR/ZR+ optics, allowing it to leverage economies of scale. Additionally, CIM 8 integrates its DSP, PIC, driver, and TIA into a single, high-reliability opto-electronic package manufactured with high-volume CMOS technology.

Capacity optimizing solutions such as Ribbon’s Apollo optical networking system have been proven to be very effective for subsea applications. Leveraging the widely deployed Acacia CIM 8 module, network operators are able to leverage mature 140Gbaud technology and advanced coherent DSP features to maximize fiber capacity while mitigating the real-world impairments of subsea fiberoptic transmission. These solutions play a large role in the expansion of available bandwidth under the sea.

Please click on these links for more information on Ribbon’s subsea optical solution and Acacia’s CIM 8.

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The Strategic Shift to Managed Optical Fiber Networks (MOFN)

dedmonds — Wed, 21 May 2025 16:40:33 +0000

dedmonds Wed, 05/21/2025 - 11:40

As digital transformation accelerates, the underlying infrastructure supporting your enterprise or service provider network faces unprecedented pressure. The exponential growth of data, driven by cloud computing, 5G, and particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), demands a fundamental rethink of how you approach connectivity. For many organizations, the traditional dichotomy between leasing dark fiber—which requires significant in-house expertise to light and manage—and purchasing standard lit services—which often lack flexibility and scalability—is no longer sufficient.

Managed Optical Fiber Networks (MOFN) have emerged as the strategic bridge between these two models. By adopting a MOFN architecture, you gain the dedicated bandwidth and security inherent to dark fiber while offloading the operational complexity of optical transmission to a specialized partner. This approach allows you to retain control over your network’s strategic capabilities without burdening your internal teams with the intricacies of photonic layers, dispersion compensation, and optical signal-to-noise ratios.

In an era where network downtime translates directly to revenue loss and reputational damage, the "managed" aspect of your fiber infrastructure becomes a critical business asset. You are no longer just buying connectivity; you are investing in a service level agreement (SLA) that guarantees performance, scalability, and expert oversight. This shift is particularly vital as you prepare your infrastructure for the massive data throughput required by next-generation applications.

Bridging the Gap: Dark Fiber Control with Lit Service Simplicity

To understand the value proposition of a Managed Optical Fiber Network, you must first analyze the limitations of the traditional alternatives available to you. Historically, if you required massive bandwidth and low latency, your primary option was to lease dark fiber. This provided you with a pair of unlit strands, giving you infinite scalability limited only by the equipment you attached to the ends. However, this model forced you to become a telecommunications operator. You had to procure transponders, manage amplifiers, handle fiber cuts, and maintain a 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC) with specialized optical engineers.

Conversely, standard lit services (like wavelengths or MPLS circuits) offered simplicity but restricted your control. You were often at the mercy of the provider’s roadmap, sharing infrastructure with other customers, which could introduce latency variations and security concerns.

MOFN disrupts this binary choice by offering a hybrid model that optimizes for both control and convenience. In a MOFN arrangement, you are typically provided with a dedicated optical system—often utilizing Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)—that is fully managed by the provider.

Key Benefits of DCI

In this model, the physical fiber assets and the optical equipment (ROADMs, amplifiers, transponders) are deployed specifically for your usage. Unlike shared lit services, you are not competing for bandwidth on a congested ring. You possess the exclusive use of the spectrum or fiber strands, ensuring deterministic latency and high throughput.

However, unlike a pure dark fiber lease, the responsibility for "lighting" that fiber rests with the managed service provider. They handle the complex optical engineering required to maximize spectral efficiency. This allows your IT and network teams to focus on the logical layers (Layer 2 and Layer 3) where your applications reside, rather than troubleshooting physical layer (Layer 0/1) anomalies.

Economic Efficiency and CAPEX Reduction

Adopting MOFN also shifts your financial model. Building a private optical network requires substantial Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) for high-end optical transport equipment. Technology cycles in optics are rapid; 100G quickly evolved to 400G and is now moving toward 800G and beyond. By utilizing a managed service, you typically shift these costs to Operational Expenditure (OPEX). The provider absorbs the technology risk, ensuring your network leverages the latest coherent optics without requiring you to constantly recapitalize your hardware stack.

The AI Catalyst: Redefining Data Center Interconnect (DCI)

The most significant driver propelling the adoption of Managed Optical Fiber Networks today is the rise of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML). AI workloads are fundamentally changing traffic patterns and capacity requirements within and between data centers. If your organization is deploying or supporting AI infrastructure, you are likely encountering the limits of traditional connectivity.

Addressing the Capacity Crunch

AI training models, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), require massive datasets to be processed in parallel across thousands of GPUs. This processing often spans multiple physical locations, necessitating a Data Center Interconnect (DCI) fabric that functions as a single, logical high-performance computer. In this context, the network is no longer just a pipe; it is the backplane of the AI supercomputer.

Standard enterprise connections are insufficient for AI workloads. Training clusters can generate terabits of east-west traffic that must move between data centers with near-zero packet loss. MOFN architectures are uniquely positioned to handle this because they utilize high-capacity DWDM systems capable of scaling to multi-terabit speeds.

By leveraging a managed optical solution, you can rapidly scale bandwidth to accommodate the "bursty" nature of AI training phases. Instead of waiting months to provision new circuits, a robust MOFN provider can dynamically allocate additional wavelengths or spectrum to your dedicated fiber paths, ensuring your GPU clusters are never starved of data.

Powering the Future of DCI

As data centers evolve to support higher power densities for AI hardware, the interconnects between them must also become more power-efficient and compact. Modern MOFN solutions incorporate the latest advancements in coherent pluggable optics (such as 400G ZR/ZR+), which drastically reduce power consumption and footprint compared to legacy transponder-based systems. This alignment between sustainable, high-performance optical transport and the demands of AI-driven DCI places MOFN at the center of future network architecture.

Architectural Requirements for High-Performance MOFN

To realize the benefits of a Managed Optical Fiber Network, the underlying architecture must be built on resilient, state-of-the-art technologies. When evaluating or designing a MOFN solution, you should look for specific technical components that ensure flexibility, reliability, and scalability.

Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs)

At the core of a modern agile optical network is the ROADM. In older, static networks, adding or changing a wavelength required manual intervention at specific sites—literally rolling a truck to patch cables. A MOFN utilizing advanced ROADM technology allows for remote, software-driven reconfiguration of wavelengths.

This means your provider can route traffic around fiber cuts or add capacity to a specific node instantly via software commands. For your network, this translates to higher availability and faster provisioning times. You should ensure your managed solution utilizes Colorless, Directionless, Contentionless (CDC) ROADMs, which offer the highest degree of flexibility, allowing any wavelength to be routed in any direction without physical restrictions.

Coherent Optics and Spectral Efficiency

The efficiency of your fiber—how much data it can carry—is determined by the optical technology lighting it. Modern MOFN architectures utilize coherent optics, which use complex modulation schemes (like 16QAM or 64QAM) to pack more bits into each symbol transmitted.

This technology enables the transmission of 400G, 800G, and eventually 1.6T wavelengths over long distances without needing expensive dispersion compensation modules. By maximizing spectral efficiency, you extract more value from the leased fiber assets. A managed provider utilizing the latest coherent technology can deliver more bandwidth over the same fiber pair, delaying the need to lease additional dark fiber strands as your traffic grows.

Open Optical Networking and Disaggregation

A key trend in the industry is the move toward open, disaggregated optical networks. Historically, optical networks were proprietary, closed systems where the transponders, line systems, and management software had to come from a single vendor.

Modern MOFN implementations increasingly embrace open standards. This allows for "alien wavelengths," where transponders from one vendor can run over the optical line system of another. For you, this prevents vendor lock-in and ensures your managed network can integrate the best-of-breed technology for specific functions. It also facilitates easier upgrades; you can upgrade the terminal equipment to higher speeds without having to rip and replace the underlying photonic line system.

The Operational Lifecycle: Monitoring, Maintenance, and Reliability

The true differentiator of a Managed Optical Fiber Network lies in the operational rigor applied to the infrastructure. While the technology enables high capacity, it is the management lifecycle—monitor, maintain, repair—that ensures reliability. When you opt for a MOFN, you are outsourcing the burden of maintaining Layer 0/1 integrity.

Proactive Monitoring and Fault Detection

Optical networks are sensitive physical systems. They can be degraded by environmental factors, construction activity, or even subtle bends in the fiber cable. A robust MOFN service includes continuous, proactive monitoring using tools like Optical Time Domain Reflectometers (OTDR) and optical power monitoring at every node.

Your provider should have visibility into parameters such as Optical Signal-to-Noise Ratio (OSNR), Pre-FEC (Forward Error Correction) Bit Error Rate, and attenuation levels. By analyzing trends in these metrics, the NOC can detect degrading lasers or dirty connectors before they cause a service outage. This shift from reactive troubleshooting (fixing it after it breaks) to predictive maintenance is a primary value add of the managed model.

Rapid Restoration and MTTR

Despite the best proactive measures, fiber cuts happen. Construction backhoes and rodent damage are perennial threats to terrestrial networks. In a do-it-yourself dark fiber scenario, a cut initiates a chaotic process: locating the break, dispatching a splicing crew, and verifying the fix. This can take hours or days if you lack established vendor contracts.

In a MOFN agreement, the provider is bound by strict SLAs regarding Mean Time to Repair (MTTR). They maintain relationships with field maintenance crews and hold inventory of spare parts (amplifiers, transponders) at strategic depots. Because they monitor the precise location of the fault via OTDR, they can dispatch crews immediately to the exact coordinates of the break. For your business, this minimizes downtime and ensures that critical AI training jobs or customer transactions are not interrupted for extended periods.

The Role of Automation in Operations

Advanced MOFN providers leverage software-defined networking (SDN) controllers to automate operational tasks. This includes auto-provisioning of wavelengths and automated power balancing across the optical span.

When traffic patterns change or a new link is added, the optical amplifiers must be adjusted to maintain signal integrity across all channels. Doing this manually is slow and error-prone. Automated control planes handle these adjustments in real-time, ensuring optimal performance without human intervention. This level of automation is essential for supporting the dynamic bandwidth needs of modern DCI and cloud connectivity.

Future-Proofing Infrastructure for the Terabit Era

As you look toward the future, the trajectory of network demand is clear: more bandwidth, lower latency, and greater ubiquity. The infrastructure choices you make today must be capable of supporting the terabit speeds of tomorrow. A Managed Optical Fiber Network offers a pathway to this future that is both technically sound and economically viable.

The scalability inherent in MOFN architectures ensures that you are not building a dead-end network. As 800G becomes the standard and the industry moves toward 1.6 Terabit Ethernet, the optical line systems deployed today are designed to support these wider channels and higher baud rates. By partnering with a managed provider, you ensure that your network evolution is guided by experts who are constantly validating and integrating these next-generation technologies.

Furthermore, the strategic value of MOFN extends beyond simple capacity. It provides the foundation for a more agile, responsive business. Whether you are a hyperscaler training the next generation of AI models, or an enterprise ensuring the resilience of your critical applications, the optical layer is the bedrock of your digital existence.

By leveraging a managed model, you transform this complex physical necessity into a flexible service. You gain the power of a carrier-grade optical backbone with the simplicity of a managed service, allowing you to focus your resources on innovation rather than infrastructure maintenance. In the race to power the AI-driven future, a robust, managed optical foundation is not just an option—it is a competitive necessity.

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Self-Driving Data Highways: Realizing the Strategic Advantages of Autonomous IP Optical Networks at OFC26

pleininger — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 18:42:12 +0000

pleininger Thu, 02/19/2026 - 12:42

In the telecom industry, leaders are under pressure to deliver more—more capacity, more agility, more reliability—while managing rising complexity with fewer resources. The network is the circulatory system of the modern telco, yet it’s still often operated like a patchwork of manual roads, each requiring constant human intervention.

This model worked when traffic was predictable and growth was linear. But today’s digital demands—AI workloads, cloud interconnects, edge computing, real‑time analytics—have turned this highway into a 24/7 rush hour.

Now imagine replacing that with a self‑driving highway:

Roads (IP and optical layers) sense congestion and automatically open new lanes
Traffic lights (routing and wavelength decisions) coordinate without human intervention
If a road is blocked, vehicles instantly reroute through the fastest alternative
The entire system learns from patterns and continuously optimizes itself

This is the promise of autonomous IP and optical networks—a network that independently detects, makes decisions, and acts on its own.

An Autonomous IP and Optical network requires three foundational capabilities:

1. A Scalable IP Routing & Optical Networking Foundation

The “roads” of the network (IP and optical layers) are moving from embedded optics to a “Pluggable World” according to Cignal AI’s latest report Coherent Optics: It’s a Pluggable World (1Q26). Pluggables represents 60% of the coherent optics market in 2026 and will move to 80% by 2030. Ribbon will be showcasing our implementation of a fully pluggable DCI architecture in the 9408 at OFC26 which offers network operators flexibility for DCI from both client and line perspectives while delivering both power and capacity reach optimized alternatives.

The optical “highway interchanges” of the network require advanced solutions to meet growing network demand for AI, and the Open Line System (OLS) is emerging as an essential network component. Ribbon will showcase the 9458 OLS, designed to deliver optimal density—supporting up to 8 degrees per 4RU rack unit and plans for expansion to 32 degrees. As network growth driven by AI increases, service providers are expected to reach C-band capacity limits; expanding into the L band is a practical solution. Ribbon’s dual-band ROADM allows operators to seamlessly increase capacity in the L band without a service disruption.

Finally, the cars (IP data flows) of the network need to know exactly where they need to go. To address this, Ribbon will display the NPT 2714, a next-generation IP aggregation router with an advanced, modular, centralized architecture, powered by an industry proven NOS, IP rNOS. Its innovative design provides investment protection with hitless upgrade from 7.2 to 14.4 TBs switching capacity, modular "Pay As You Grow" fan out and seamless introduction of new technology.

2. Real Time Visibility Across IP Routing & Optical Networking Layers

The network must see everything—traffic patterns, optical performance, routing behavior—continuously and in context.

Ribbon’s Muse Multi-Layer Automation Platform is designed for multilayer IP routing and optical networking solutions, equipping service providers with a comprehensive toolkit to efficiently shine a light into their networks. AI-powered agents are increasingly becoming integral resources for simplifying network queries and expediting troubleshooting. At OFC26, we will demonstrate the Muse AI-powered Agent, which enables network operators to access network information via natural language queries. This feature is particularly beneficial for non-technical personnel, such as sales and marketing teams, who require customer data from the network without needing to consult operations staff.

3. AI‑Driven Decisioning

Machine learning models analyze data, predict issues, and recommend or execute actions.

Ribbon will be demonstrating Acumen- which is a multi-vendor, multi-domain AIOps and Automation platform that sits on top of Muse but can provide a consistent set of capabilities across vendors & domains.

The Bottom Line for Executives

Autonomous IP optical networks aren’t about replacing people—they’re about empowering organizations to operate at digital speed. They transform the network from a cost center into a strategic asset that:

Accelerates innovation
Improves customer experience
Reduces operational risk
Supports AI‑driven growth

In a world where digital performance is business performance, the service providers that adopt self‑driving networks will outpace those still relying on manual roads. Please visit the Ribbon booth 1258 at OFC26 to talk to our experts about paving your path to an autonomous network.

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How AI & Search Trends Strengthened My Digital Marketing Strategy in 2025

pleininger — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 20:45:53 +0000

pleininger Thu, 02/19/2026 - 14:45

2025 was one of the most transformative years I’ve seen in B2B digital marketing in my two decades of managing web properties. As AI overviews began taking over more of the search experience and buyer behavior shifted, I had to rethink how we attract, educate, and convert our audience. And I know I’m not the only one — AI told me so.

The year challenged a lot of assumptions, but it also clarified where real intent lives. I’m going to share what changed for me, but I’m more interested in your experience. Did 2025 challenge your digital marketing strategy too?

AI Overviews Changed the Search Game

The biggest shift came from AI‑generated search responses. We saw a decline in organic traffic, especially across glossary and blog content. But the quality of the visitors who did reach us stood out.

The shift in visitors turned out be positive:

Organic traffic remained a core driver of visits
Conversions held steady
Direct traffic climbed — a strong signal of brand recall (and arguably some Google misattribution)

It became clear that high‑intent visitors were still finding us — and converting.

Figure 1 rbbn.com direct traffic bump – google’s documented misattribution of organic as direct traffic

Brand Strength Grew

For the first time since launching the Ribbon brand, brand-search volume was impacted like all of our other search traffic. Yet the broader picture suggested something interesting:

Direct traffic strengthened
Our brand survey showed significantly higher ad awareness
Advertising created notable lifts in recognition globally

People may be searching for us less, but they’re thinking about us more — and coming to us intentionally.

The Payoff - Lead Quality Improved Across the Funnel

One of the most encouraging trends was the improvement in lead quality across the funnel:

Marketing‑qualified leads (MQLs) improved
Sales‑qualified leads showed double the growth of MQLs
The hand‑off from marketing to sales became more efficient

The traffic we attracted was more purposeful, more educated, and more likely to convert into real pipeline. For the first time in my career, less traffic didn’t equate to fewer qualified leads.

For the first time in my twenty-year career, less traffic didn’t equate to fewer qualified leads, this is the AI effect.

AI‑Generated Traffic Emerged as a New Channel

A bright spot was the rise of AI‑sourced visits. We saw:

10% Growth Month-over-Month for visits from non‑Google AI engines — how much growth did you see? If you don’t know, you should configure Google Analytics to tell you.
AI‑sourced visitors converted at twice the rate of our traditional winner, organic traffic.

This is early proof that optimizing for GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) — not just conventional SEO — will be essential going forward.

Looking Ahead Through 2026

2025 forced me to rethink what “performance” really means. It’s no longer about volume — it’s about intent, relevance, and visibility in an AI‑driven search landscape.

My focus for 2026:

Prioritize GEO alongside traditional SEO with more detailed technical, ungated content
Invest in brand storytelling and thought leadership

2025 was the year of strategic clarity and that clarity is exactly what will set us up for success in 2026.

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Helping Businesses Manage Blocked Calls: How SIP 603+ improves transparency in troubleshooting Call Failures

dedmonds — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 15:43:21 +0000

dedmonds Thu, 02/05/2026 - 09:43

Imagine pulling up to a gas pump, inserting your credit card, and having the display on the pump say “denied”. You call your credit card company, and they say, “Oh, we don’t know, maybe it’s the merchant’s fault, or the card reader is bad…, we can look into it and get back to you in a few weeks.” Most of us would be pretty upset with that response.

Unfortunately, until recently, if a business placed calls to its customers and those calls were blocked, the business might have had to wait weeks to find out what was happening. This was not because their service provider wasn’t interested; it was because the reason for the blocked calls was hard to uncover.

Historically, blocked calls could fail without a clear explanation. Different service providers returned different SIP error codes, such as 603 (Denied), 607 (Unwanted), or 608 (Rejected). None of these cryptic codes clearly indicated that a service provider was intentionally blocking the call. It could just as easily have been another network failure that drove the response, leaving the originating service provider and enterprises in the dark about why their calls were not reaching their customers. Was the call blocked due to suspected spam, an invalid number, or a routing issue? Troubleshooting frequently involved deep log analysis using data that lacked complete context. Too often, the business owner was completely in the dark as to the cause and, more importantly, how to resolve the issue.

As part of its March 2025 order targeting unlawful robocalls, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced an important change to how reason codes (like 603) for blocked calls are communicated across networks. The FCC required support for a new and enhanced SIP response code, “603+”. While it may sound like a small technical update, it represents a meaningful step toward providing greater clarity and consistency across the telecommunications ecosystem.

What is the SIP 603+ code?

SIP 603+ removes ambiguity as to the reason a call was blocked.

The SIP 603+ response builds on the standard SIP 603 “Decline” message and introduces two important enhancements. First, it replaces the generic SIP 603 reason phrase “Decline” with the more explicit “Network Blocked,” making the rejection's intent immediately clear. Second, SIP 603+ includes a SIP Reason header. The reason header adds context, including:

Cause Parameter (Code): Indicates the specific, machine-readable reason for the block, such as Q.850 cause 21 (call rejected)
Location: Identifies where in the network the call was blocked, such as the originating network, transit network, network serving the called party, etc.
Text/Redress Information: Provides a reason text, URL, email, or telephone number, allowing the caller to contact the entity responsible for blocking the call to resolve potential inaccuracies.

When a call is blocked using “reasonable analytics” (i.e., the service provider believes the call is not legitimate), the service provider that terminates the call must return 603+, and that response must be passed unchanged across the entire call path. Simply put, 603+ clearly signals that a call was blocked by policy, and not by accident.

This standardization replaces guesswork with a single, consistent indicator that improves visibility, speeds troubleshooting, and supports faster redress when legitimate traffic is affected.

When does the SIP 603+ go into effect, and how can providers be ready for it?

The requirement goes into effect on March 25, 2026, a year after the rule was passed, giving providers time to update systems, test interoperability, and align signaling, analytics, and operational workflows. Supporting 603+ is not just a configuration change; it requires coordination across the network.

Ribbon is Ready

Ribbon is ready for SIP 603+. Ribbon has updated its product portfolio, including Session Border Controller (SBC), Centralized Policy and Routing Engine (PSX), Call Trust, and C15 Compact Softswitch to support the FCC‑mandated SIP 603+ response code. This ensures clear, standards‑compliant blocked‑call signaling across IP and mixed networks. These updates help customers meet regulatory requirements while improving call transparency, reducing operational complexity, and protecting legitimate traffic.

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Why Aging Networks Put Critical Infrastructure at Risk—and What It Means for Us

dedmonds — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 22:28:15 +0000

dedmonds Thu, 01/08/2026 - 16:28

Everywhere around us, technology is evolving at lightning speed, yet the networks which underpin these capabilities often lag behind. This gap creates vulnerabilities that can impact everything from energy grids to emergency services. Forbes recently explored this urgent issue in an article featuring insights from our CEO Bruce McClelland, who shared an informed perspective on why modernization is essential, not optional.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to read the full article. After you do, let’s keep the conversation going—share your thoughts on LinkedIn, tag us, and join the dialogue about how we can collectively drive change. I look forward to your thoughts.

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Optimizing DCI for AI Growth: All Roads Lead to Managed Optical Fiber Networks

dedmonds — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 21:23:21 +0000

dedmonds Wed, 11/19/2025 - 15:23

The accelerating demand for artificial intelligence and cloud-based applications is fundamentally altering how organizations approach physical infrastructure. As data center construction shifts toward rural geographies in search of affordable power and real estate, the connectivity binding these facilities together has become a critical bottleneck. Network architects and CIOs are currently facing a complex decision matrix regarding Data Center Interconnect (DCI) deployment. While traditional strategies like leasing waves or building private dark fiber networks remain common, a hybrid model known as the Managed Optical Fiber Network (MOFN) is rapidly emerging as the superior path for high-capacity scalability.

Navigating the Spectrum of High-Capacity Connectivity Options

Organizations typically choose between three distinct DCI models, each with specific financial and operational implications. The first, Managed Waves, offers a low barrier to entry with minimal capital expenditure. In this model, the enterprise leases specific capacity from a service provider on shared infrastructure. While convenient, this creates a linear cost trajectory where every additional bit of bandwidth results in a direct increase in operating expense.

On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the Private Build approach, also known as Private DCI. Here, an organization leases dark fiber and installs its own optical equipment. This grants total network visibility and control but demands significant upfront capital and internal engineering expertise to manage the ongoing operations, software upgrades, and hardware maintenance. For many enterprise IT teams, becoming a miniature telecom operator is neither feasible nor desirable.

When Should You Switch from Managed Waves to a Dedicated Network?

U.S. market data reveals a clear "tipping point" for data center connectivity costs. If your organization is just starting out, leasing Managed Waves is the most affordable choice. However, the math changes the moment your bandwidth needs hit over three 100G connections (3 x 100G).

Once you exceed this threshold, paying for individual waves becomes significantly more expensive than investing in a dedicated solution. While a private network offers lower long-term costs at this stage, building one yourself requires finding dark fiber and managing complex hardware—tasks many IT teams aren't equipped to handle. This creates a unique financial gap that Managed Optical Fiber Networks (MOFN) are designed to solve: they offer the cost savings of a private network without the operational headache of building it yourself.

Bridging the Gap: How MOFN Delivers Private Network Control with Service Layer Simplicity

A Managed Optical Fiber Network represents the convergence of private network scalability and the simplicity of a managed service. In this deployment model, a service provider builds and operates a dedicated fiber network exclusively for the customer. This approach grants the enterprise the scalability and security of a Private DCI without the burden of procuring fiber rights-of-way or managing physical equipment lifecycles.

MOFN has become the preferred architecture for data center operators and cloud providers expanding into territories where dark fiber is scarce or regulatory hurdles prevent private builds. By outsourcing the physical layer to a service provider while retaining a dedicated "virtual" fiber backbone, organizations can lock in a lower TCO comparable to private builds while maintaining an OpEx-friendly monthly payment structure. This model is particularly vital for hyperscalers and large enterprises needing to secure N x 400G connectivity pathways between metro cores and rural compute facilities without diverting internal resources to manage the optical transport layer.

Enhancing Performance with Multi-Layer Automation and Scalable Architecture

For a Managed Optical Fiber Network to function effectively, it requires transparency. Enterprises opting for MOFN demand the same level of visibility they would possess if they owned the network themselves. This is where modern multi-layer automation platforms differentiate high-quality deployments. Solutions like Ribbon’s Muse allow service providers to expose a customer portal, giving data center operators a real-time view of network performance and health, simulating the "private network" experience.

Furthermore, the underlying hardware must support the density required by modern AI workloads. Deployment solutions incorporating 400G pluggable optics and modular architectures, such as the Ribbon Apollo 9408, allow for massive scalability—up to 25.6T capacity in a compact footprint—while maintaining exceptional power efficiency. By leveraging low-code automation and secure, high-density transport, the MOFN model empowers service providers to deliver a high-performance, encrypted, and dedicated spectrum to enterprises. This ensures that as bandwidth demands skyrocket past the 300G barrier, the network supports business outcomes rather than hindering them.

All Roads Lead to MOFN

As data center operators continue to navigate the dual pressures of AI-driven capacity growth and the need for rural expansion, the financial argument for sticking with traditional connectivity models is weakening. For any organization anticipating growth beyond the critical 3 x 100G threshold, the status quo of leasing managed waves is no longer the most economically viable path.

The Managed Optical Fiber Network model offers the "best of both worlds," securing the economic stability and scalability of private infrastructure without the operational burden of managing it. By adopting this approach, enterprises can future-proof their connectivity strategies while leveraging the expertise of service providers.

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Technical Debt for Middle Mile Broadband: Why Access-Agnostic Intelligent Middle Mile Matters

dedmonds — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:38:26 +0000

dedmonds Tue, 01/06/2026 - 11:38

What Is Technical Debt in Middle Mile Networks?

Technical debt refers to the future costs and limitations incurred when organizations opt for short-term solutions over robust, long-term scalable architectures. For the middle mile, technical debt often manifests as equipment or network designs that restrict long-term flexibility, scalability, or interoperability. Oftentimes, this debt stems from an approach advocated by last mile vendors to build a middle mile for broadband traffic only and not consider other L3, Mobile backhaul, wholesale or DCI services. These limitations can lead to expensive upgrades, operational headaches, and missed opportunities as technology and market demands evolve.

Navigating Middle Mile Deployment Challenges

Significant investments are being made in broadband infrastructure across the United States, driven by initiatives such as the BEAD and Middle Mile Grant programs. These efforts are enabling the rollout of extensive fiber networks and related technologies nationwide. Yet, the urgency to implement solutions rapidly and within budget often leads network operators to select equipment tailored to just one access technology—typically, fiber-based Passive Optical Network (PON) systems.

PON is widely recognized as the gold standard for speed and reliability in last mile broadband. But is it always the best choice? In many rural and remote locations, deploying fiber can be impractical or too expensive. Here, fixed wireless or satellite access often provide faster and more cost-effective alternatives.

Regardless of the last mile technology, every solution depends on a robust middle mile network to connect users to the internet. If operators choose middle mile aggregation equipment that only supports fiber, they risk two major pitfalls: missing out on new revenue streams from other access types and accumulating technical debt. This debt can lead to expensive upgrades, operational complexity, and missed opportunities as technology evolves.

To avoid these challenges, operators should consider access-agnostic middle mile solutions that support fiber, wireless, and satellite traffic.This approach not only future-proofs the network but also maximizes flexibility and long-term value.

5 Key Benefits of Access-Agnostic and Converged IP Optical Networks

Access-agnostic IP optical aggregation equipment is designed to work seamlessly with multiple access technologies—fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite. This flexibility has several key advantages:

1. Future-Proofing the Network

Technology evolves rapidly. Today’s fiber may be joined by tomorrow’s 5G fixed wireless or next-generation satellite links. Access-agnostic solutions ensure that the middle mile can aggregate traffic from any access type, minimizing the need for costly forklift upgrades or overlay networks

2. Maximizing ROI and Grant Compliance

Federal and state broadband grants increasingly require networks to serve diverse geographies and populations. Access-agnostic middle mile aggregation allows operators to extend service to hard-to-reach areas using the most appropriate technology, maximizing coverage and return on investment.

3. Operational Simplicity and Lower TCO

Access agnostic middle mile aggregation platforms reduce operational complexity. Instead of managing separate systems for fiber, wireless, and satellite, operators can streamline provisioning, monitoring, and troubleshooting. This lowers total cost of ownership (TCO) and accelerates time-to-service. As a network operator, you need to constantly manage your multi-layer IP optical Middle Mile networks to effectively utilize the network to rapidly deploy and activate new services while ensuring optimization, availability, and peak operational efficiency. The Muse Multilayer Automation Platform offers real-time management of Ribbon IP and optical networks, equipping network operators with the essential tools to enhance your Middle Mile network investment returns. It enables operators to best manage traffic flows from various last mile access types whether fiber, fixed wireless or satellite.

4. Resilience and Route Diversity

Fiber is robust, but vulnerable to physical disruptions (e.g., construction, natural disasters). Fixed wireless and satellite offer alternative paths, enhancing network resilience. Access-agnostic middle mile aggregation enables seamless failover and route diversity, critical for mission-critical applications.

5. Scalability and Service Innovation

As demand grows for bandwidth-intensive applications—AI, telehealth, smart agriculture—networks must scale quickly. Access-agnostic middle mile platforms support dynamic capacity allocation and service-aware routing, empowering operators to architect their network to allow for future innovation without constraint.

Why Fiber-Only Architectures Limit Scalability and Resilience

Middle Mile solutions that are dedicated to PON last mile may seem cost-effective initially, but creates several risks:

Upgrade Headaches: As wireless and satellite technologies mature, fiber-only platforms require expensive upgrades or replacements to support new access types.
Operational Silos: Managing separate aggregation systems for each access technology increases complexity and operational costs.
Reduced Resilience: Lack of support for alternative access paths limits route diversity and disaster recovery options.

Real-World Example: Vibrant Broadband’s Middle Mile Strategy

Vibrant Broadband is a subsidiary of Meeker Energy and began operations in 2018 with their first broadband subscriber being connected in 2019 and currently has 7,000+ subscribers with 1,200+ miles of fiber line. Vibrant Broadband’s deployment in central Minnesota illustrates the value of service aware broadband aggregation. By leveraging Ribbon’s NPT 2100 IP aggregation router, which supports interfaces from 1 to 400 Gb/s and can work with multiple last mile access types, Vibrant achieved a tenfold bandwidth increase and reduced operational costs by up to 40%. This approach enabled rapid expansion, grant compliance, and future-proof scalability. Explore the case study:

Vibrant Energy Case Study

Conclusion: Invest Wisely to Avoid Technical Debt

Deploying Intelligent Middle Mile aggregation equipment is a strategic decision with long-term consequences. Access-agnostic middle mile solutions offer the flexibility, scalability, and resilience needed to serve diverse communities and adapt to evolving technologies. By avoiding fiber-only middle mile solutions, operators can minimize technical debt, maximize ROI, and deliver on the promise of universal broadband.

Key Takeaway:

Choose middle mile aggregation equipment that is access-agnostic—compatible with fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite. This investment will pay dividends in coverage, cost savings, operational efficiency, and future readiness. To learn more about Ribbon’s access agnostic middle mile solutions, check out: Ribbon Intelligent Middle Mile Solutions

Streaming live sports has become one of the most demanding applications for both last mile and middle mile broadband networks. While the Superbowl was once considered the peak stress event for network traffic, the weekly Thursday Night Football (TNF) games—now exclusively streamed on Amazon Prime—are increasingly cited by operators as the most challenging events for their networks. To illustrate how service providers are addressing these pressures, we invite you to watch our new video, which showcases two different approaches and the diverse consequences each network provider achieves.

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