Event organizers for the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) announced on Oct. 15 that OFC 2021, the premier event in telecom and data center optics, will now take place June 6 - 10, 2021, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. The show's exhibition will be held June 8 – 10, 2021.

The conference, originally scheduled for March 28 – April 1, 2021 in San Francisco, has rescheduled its dates to ensure a successful conference and exhibition experience for all participants, while also taking into consideration the health and safety of attendees and exhibitors.

Considered the foremost gathering of leaders in academia, engineering and industry, OFC bills itself as representing the entire optical communications ecosystem—"from research to the marketplace, from components to systems and networks, technical sessions and an interactive exhibition."  

According to a press release, OFC 2021 will introduce a blended in-person and virtual format to provide attendees the greatest opportunity to reach customers, reconnect with colleagues and demonstrate innovative solutions to this community. The high-caliber plenary program will include live onsite presentations from three distinguished speakers on the latest research and applications in optical fiber communication. 

"Since the 2020 conference and exhibition occurred, OFC's co-sponsors, steering committee and program chairs have been meeting regularly to ascertain the likely impact of the current pandemic on the event," commented OFC 2021 steering committee chair, Seb Savory, IEEE/Photonics Society, and University of Cambridge, UK.  

Savory continued, "After careful consideration, having consulted various stakeholders, it became clear that the best solution at this point in time, was to shift the timing of OFC, from March to June. By moving the event to these new dates, we not only increase the likelihood that we will be able meet together in person and so be able to enjoy both the usual onsite programming and exhibits; but it also better aligns the timing of OFC with other major conferences that have shifted their timing in response to the pandemic." 

The OFC 2021 technical program will continue to explore the latest in optical communications innovation, data center connectivity, machine learning/artificial intelligence (AI), applications of optical networks in 5G and cloud computing. The new abstract and summary submission deadline for the event is January 26, 2021, 12:00 EST. 

Health and safety measures for the June 2021 event will be implemented at the Moscone Center and all associated properties. Further details about the conference call for papers, speaking submissions, the conference and exhibition will be forthcoming. The traditional OFC conference schedule is tentatively set to resume in March 2022 to maintain continuity for attendees in planning and preparing for the event. 

Monitor the OFC website, http://www.ofcconference.org, for updates.