ADVA Optical Networking SE announced that it?s playing a key role in three research projects focused on significantly increasing the capacity of optical networks by using space division multiplexing technology. Partly funded by Germany?s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the initiatives aim to transform optical transport systems by utilizing several parallel transmission paths. The research will focus on new ways to tackle the exponential rise in data traffic while continuing to reduce cost per bit. Running for three years, the projects will develop and demonstrate solutions to enable the next generation of high-performance networks. The projects feature a consortium of industry and research partners working to harness the potential of space multiplexing in fiber optic networks. That requires solving challenges and developing novel solutions in several key technology areas. These include a new generation of terminals to light up large chunks of capacity in a ?rack-and-stack? fashion, optical switching nodes and amplifiers tailored to handle a large number of parallel signal paths, as well as disruptive innovation on new fibers. ADVA is leading the ?Scalable terminal architectures and subsystems for fiber optic space multiplexing ? project, aimed at highly-integrated terminals for data center interconnects, as well as the ?Wavelength selective switches for optical space multiplex? project focused on novel optical switch architectures. ADVA?s team will also play a central role in the ?Multi-core fibers and amplifiers with the capacity (Multi-Cap)? project, which will advance fiber transmission and optical amplification for SDM applications.