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COMPANY PROFILE / OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS & PHOTONICS

NTT
A telecom carrier that builds its own photonic-electronic convergence devices, and plans to take IOWN from the network into the computer

NTT is Japan's largest telecommunications carrier. In optical communications its natural role is to build and operate networks that run on light. Yet in June 2023 it set up NTT Innovative Devices, a subsidiary that plans, designs, manufactures and sells photonic-electronic convergence devices, with ¥30 billion in capital and capital reserve. In October 2025 it went further, setting out a roadmap with Broadcom and Accton to bring a 102.4 Tbps co-packaged optics (CPO) switch to market from 2026. A carrier setting out to make the optical devices that sit inside data-centre switches is what sets NTT apart from every other carrier. This profile keeps the mobile and regional telephone businesses to a minimum and concentrates on what NTT is putting into IOWN and photonic-electronic convergence, who it is working with and where it is heading.

Sources: NTT, Inc.'s Annual Securities Report for its 41st fiscal period (Japan's statutory annual filing, submitted 16 June 2026), the IOWN briefing materials of 6 October 2025 (from NTT's CTO and from NTT Innovative Devices), the company presentation of February 2026 and NTT's official news releases, used as primary material. Most are in Japanese; quotations from them are our own translations. Last updated September 2026.

What this article covers
  1. NTT in 30 seconds, and where it stands in optical communications and photonics
  2. The logo and how the name is written
  3. Where the company sits in the optical communications landscape
  4. Scale (the group in brief)
  5. Resources committed to optical communications and photonics
  6. What it has done so far
  7. What comes next
  8. What the company is aiming for in optical communications and photonics
  9. Map of partnerships in optical communications and photonics
  10. Technologies, products and services
  11. The risks this company carries
  12. Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit

1. NTT in 30 seconds, and where it stands in optical communications and photonics

LEGAL NAMENTT, Inc.Renamed from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation on 1 July 2025
HEADQUARTERSChiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JapanA holding company with the research laboratories under it
LISTINGTokyo Stock Exchange Prime 9432The securities code given in the company presentation
CATEGORY IN THIS FIELDCarrier
(with a device subsidiary)
Photonic-electronic convergence devices are handled by NTT Innovative Devices
DEVICE SUBSIDIARY CAPITAL¥30 billionAt its founding in June 2023, including capital reserve
CPO SWITCH102.4 TbpsCommercial samples planned for Q4 2026
NEXT GENERATION (PEC-3)Commercial samples in 2028Links chip packages to each other directly with light
MAIN AREAS OF LIGHTCarrier networks (APN)
Photonic-electronic convergence in the data centre
Also researches photonic quantum computing and optical space communications
The one thing to grasp first

Companies involved in optical communications fall into three broad types: optical components & modules, chips & foundries, and network systems & carriers. NTT is a carrier, but under its IOWN initiative it decided to design and manufacture photonic-electronic convergence (PEC) devices within its own group, and created a dedicated subsidiary to do so Sourced. Its May 2023 announcement described the aim as bringing the dramatic reduction in power consumption that photonic-electronic convergence offers not only to communications but also to computing, such as data centres. NTT's optical business therefore rests on two pillars: (1) a network that carries signals as light end to end (the APN) and (2) devices that connect the inside of computers with light (PEC). With the second, it is stepping onto the same ground as component makers and chip companies.

2. The logo and how the name is written

The NTT logo is a trademark of the company. We have not recreated it with generated imagery; the image was taken from the official website and is placed here as img/ntt_logo.svg.

A note on names: following approval at the June 2025 shareholders' meeting, the company changed its trade name on 1 July 2025 from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation to NTT, Inc. Sources in this article dated June 2025 or earlier were issued under the former name. The photonic-electronic convergence device subsidiary is NTT Innovative Devices Corporation, abbreviated in company materials as "NID". "IOWN" is a trademark or registered trademark of NTT.

Official site: https://group.ntt/jp/

3. Where the company sits in the optical communications landscape

Three types of company in optical communications and photonics All of them are optical communications companies, yet where they handle light differs completely Optical components & modules Chips & foundries Network systems & carriers Sell parts to emit and detect light Make chips that connect to optics Build and run optical networks Lumentum / Coherent InnoLight / Ayar Labs, etc. NVIDIA / Broadcom TSMC / Intel, etc. NTT / Ciena Nokia / Cisco, etc. Mass-producing lasers, packaging Sell into switches and GPUs Long-haul and operations know-how Heavily reliant on big customers Often rely on others for optics Data-centre tech changes fast NTT is the carrier on the far right, but via a subsidiary it reaches into optical components on the left The APN carries traffic as light; PEC devices aim to bring light to switch and GPU links in data centres
Fig. 1 The three types of company involved in optical communications and photonics, and where NTT sits. The classification is our own, and the companies shown are examples drawn from those covered in this series Our calculation. NTT is placed according to its core business as a carrier; that NTT Innovative Devices plans, designs, develops, manufactures and sells photonic-electronic convergence devices is based on NTT's releases of May and June 2023.

In terms of where in the optical chain it operates, NTT is involved both in long-haul and carrier networks (the APN and data-centre interconnect) and in optical interconnects inside the data centre (the photonic-electronic convergence switch and, in future, optical chiplets) Sourced. The ground covered by our explainers on IOWN, on co-packaged optics and on optical interconnects and SerDes sits right at the centre of NTT's plans.

4. Scale (the group in brief)

The size of the group as a whole is covered in a single table Sourced.

Measure (¥ million)Year to March 2024Year to March 2025Year to March 2026
Consolidated operating revenues13,374,56913,704,72714,409,121
Consolidated R&D expenses (after inter-segment eliminations)--278,649
Consolidated employees (people)338,467341,321344,196
A caution

The figures above are for the group as a whole. They do not show the size of the IOWN or photonic-electronic convergence businesses. In the primary sources we checked, NTT does not publish IOWN-related revenue, investment or R&D spending, nor the revenue, profit or headcount of NTT Innovative Devices Not yet confirmed. The only published amount is the ¥30 billion in capital and capital reserve with which NTT Innovative Devices was founded, and the company says it will consider further capital increases in stages. How much of the ¥278.6 billion consolidated R&D budget goes to photonic-electronic convergence is not known either.

5. Resources committed to optical communications and photonics

Type of resourceWhat it isCategory
People (dedicated organisation)NTT Innovative Devices, a subsidiary dedicated to photonic-electronic convergence devices (founded June 2023, Minato-ku, Tokyo, wholly owned by NTT). At its founding NTT announced that it would spin off the PEC device development work of the NTT laboratories into the company and planned to merge it with NTT Electronics. Headcount not disclosedSourced
Money (equity)¥30 billion in capital and capital reserve at the founding of NTT Innovative Devices, with further capital increases to be considered in stagesSourced
Money (manufacturing capacity)For the PEC-2 switch, the company said it was expanding manufacturing capacity (5,000 units per line per month) (October 2025). Investment not disclosedSourced
Money (R&D)Consolidated R&D expenses of ¥278.6 billion (year to March 2026). The amount going to IOWN and photonic-electronic convergence is not disclosedSourced
Equity ties with outside companiesThe October 2025 materials describe the companies designing and supplying silicon photonics and analogue ICs as "companies related to NTT Innovative Devices through investment" (the companies cannot be identified from the materials). US Conec, the multi-fibre optical connector maker, is a joint venture of Corning, Fujikura and NTT Advanced Technology (according to Fujikura's announcement)Partly sourced
Public funding (NEDO)Selected in January 2024 for NEDO's Research and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G Information and Communication Systems (NEDO is Japan's state R&D funding agency), covering photonic-electronic convergence devices as well as all-photonic networks. According to co-contractor Furukawa Electric, NTT, NTT Innovative Devices, NTT Device Cross Technologies, Shinko Electric Industries and Furukawa Electric were jointly awarded the theme of optical chiplet packaging technology (running to FY2028)Sourced
Public funding (NICT)A January 2024 release states that NTT takes part in the Beyond 5G R&D Promotion Program and the Innovative Information and Communications Technology (Beyond 5G (6G)) Fund Program of NICT, the national institute for information and communications technology that runs Japan's government-funded Beyond 5G research programmesSourced
Universities, research institutes and start-upsA cooperation agreement with OptQC on photonic quantum computers (November 2025). No joint research with universities on photonic-electronic convergence devices appears in the primary sources we checkedPartly sourced

6. What it has done so far

WhenWhat happenedWhy it matters
From the 1970sThe company says it has developed technologies such as optical fibre fabrication methods and the demultiplexing and splitting of optical signals, and has brought optical communications into practical use over more than 40 yearsAn accumulated base of optical technology
2023IOWN 1.0: photonic-electronic convergence devices for network interfaces (PEC-1) applied to transmission equipment and inter-data-centre links, and commercialised as APN 1.0The first generation of photonic-electronic convergence
June 2023NTT Innovative Devices founded (¥30 billion in capital and capital reserve)A dedicated company to make and sell the devices
October 2023An optical transmission experiment at 1.6 terabits per second over a field-deployed multi-core fibre cable (described by the company as a world first)Research into higher-capacity data-centre networks
January 2024Selected for NEDO's post-5G project, taking part in R&D on photonic-electronic convergence devicesJoins a national semiconductor project
March 2024With NTT Communications, a live demonstration at OFC 2024 of a 400G/800G APN built from several vendors' products using photonic-electronic convergence technology and open standardsMulti-vendor interconnection
April to October 2025At the NTT Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, the company announced it had run IOWN 2.0 photonic-electronic convergence devices continuously, achieving a computer with one-eighth the power consumption. Taiwan and Osaka, more than 3,000 km apart, were linked with a 40 ms round-trip delayPEC-2 operated in a real environment
July 2025Trade name changed to NTT, Inc.-
October 2025At an IOWN briefing, NTT announced its commercialisation plan for the PEC-2 photonic-electronic convergence switch (102.4 Tbps) and its partnerships with Broadcom and AcctonA concrete product for data centres
November 2025Cooperation agreement with OptQC on photonic quantum computersApplying optical communications technology to quantum computing
March 2026A photodetector with operating speed in the 200 GHz class and practical-level reliability (described by the company as a world first)A step towards 3.2 Tbps-class optical transceivers
May 2026Medium-term strategy revised as "New value creation & Sustainability 2030 powered by AIOWN", setting out nationwide roll-out of the APN and a wider ecosystem for photonic-electronic convergence devicesIOWN repositioned inside an AI infrastructure
August 2026Design guidelines for the APN, led by seven Japanese companies, standardised internationally as ITU-T Recommendation Y.3335An international standard for the APN

7. What comes next

PEC-2 OPTICAL ENGINEQ2 2026Samples (plan as of October 2025)
PEC-2 CPO SWITCHQ4 2026Commercial samples. Live demonstration planned at OCP 2026
PEC-3 (OPTICAL CHIPLET)2028Commercial samples scheduled
PEC-4 (DIE TO DIE)2032 onwardsA target on the roadmap

According to NTT Innovative Devices' materials of October 2025, the PEC-2 switch aims for 102.4 Tbps of capacity and roughly 50% lower power consumption for the switch alone, and its optical engines are removable from sockets, which is meant to cut repair costs when one fails Sourced. The performance targets are 3.9 pJ/bit and a shoreline density (how much traffic can pass through each millimetre of the package edge) of 0.4 Tbps/mm. PEC-3 is an optical chiplet that links semiconductor packages such as GPUs directly with light. It uses the NTT laboratories' own membrane (thin-film compound semiconductor) technology and targets 0.26 pJ/bit. The Annual Securities Report also states that commercial samples of PEC-3 are scheduled to start in 2028. In addition, the strategy revision of May 2026 calls for expanding the IOWN APN across the whole country and for growing the ecosystem for photonic-electronic convergence devices through collaboration with a wide range of partners.

Reading the performance figures

None of the figures above is a result from products in volume production Not yet confirmed. The materials call 3.9 pJ/bit and 0.4 Tbps/mm PEC-2 "targets", and describe PEC-3's 0.26 pJ/bit as a device-level value measured on an evaluation set-up at 64 Gbps and 10 mA (0.14 pJ/bit at 50 Gbps and 5 mA). The 50% power reduction for the switch alone is presented as a comparison with switches that use conventional pluggable optical modules. Whether the optical engine samples were delivered in Q2 2026 as planned could not be confirmed from the primary sources we checked.

8. What the company is aiming for in optical communications and photonics

This section goes beyond what the company says directly. It sets out inferences that can be drawn from primary sources, each with its basis.

What can be readPrimary evidence behind itCategory
Although a carrier, NTT intends to earn revenue by selling optical devices for data centres to outside customersNTT Innovative Devices' business purpose includes "sales", and PEC-2 is presented as a switch for server-to-server links inside hyperscale data centres, in a product form built with Broadcom and AcctonInference
NTT takes on the overall design and the optical engine, leaving the switch LSI and the box to othersThe materials say NID takes on core processes such as the overall design of the CPO switch module and coordinates the whole, and show a division of labour in which the 102.4 Tbps switch LSI and the switch box come from other companiesSourced
The purpose of IOWN has shifted from faster communications to lower powerThe CTO's materials describe the next stage after the APN (ultra-high speed, low latency) as expanding into optical computing that achieves low power consumptionSourced
In photonic-electronic convergence NTT also has a path other than silicon photonics (compound semiconductor membranes)PEC-3 is said to use InP-based membrane technology, while the companies listed as PEC-2 component suppliers use silicon photonicsInference
The APN is being extended both nationwide in Japan and through international linksThe Annual Securities Report's call for expanding the IOWN APN across the whole country, the Taiwan to Osaka link at the Expo, and standardisation at the ITU-TSourced
One inference, explained in full

NTT Innovative Devices' October 2025 materials list as a strength of PEC-2 a socket-type optical engine unlike any other, and give its benefits as a fundamental reduction in repair costs when an optical engine fails and, in future, the possibility of building a multi-vendor supply chain Sourced. A weakness often cited for CPO is that when an optical part fails, the whole switch has to be replaced. NTT is trying to solve this by letting just the optical engine be swapped out of its socket. Our reading is that this design philosophy comes from the point of view of the people who operate data centres: a company that has maintained communications networks for decades is carrying its maintenance thinking into devices for data centres Not yet confirmed.

9. Map of partnerships in optical communications and photonics

NTT's partnerships in optical communications Only ties stated in NTT's securities report, briefings and releases; press-reported ties excluded Joint products Funding, standards Group firm (dashed) Research and trials NTT Carrier NTT Innovative Devices Wholly owned; ¥30bn capital etc. Broadcom 102.4T switch LSI (PEC-2) NEDO (Furukawa et al.) Optical chiplet packaging Selected 2024, runs to FY2028 Accton Designs, builds 102.4T SW-BOX System partner for PEC-2 Seven Japanese firms, NICT fund APN guideline standardised at ITU-T Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan) Japan-Taiwan APN, over 3,000 km OptQC: photonic quantum tie-up
Fig. 2 NTT's partnerships in optical communications. Sources: IOWN briefing materials of 6 October 2025 (NTT's CTO and NTT Innovative Devices), the Annual Securities Report, NTT releases (May 2023 and January 2024), a Furukawa Electric release (January 2024) and a joint release by 1FINITY and others (August 2026). Broadcom and Accton are named explicitly as PEC-2 partners in the October 2025 materials (both also presented their own materials at the same briefing). The materials show the suppliers of silicon photonics and analogue ICs as "companies related to NTT Innovative Devices through investment", but the companies cannot be identified from the materials, so they are left out of the figure.

10. Technologies, products and services

Technology or productWhat the primary sources sayStage
APN (All-Photonics Network)A network that carries signals as light, with low latency and low power. Commercialised as APN 1.0 in 2023. Trialled in uses such as distributed processing across data centresCommercial service
PEC-1Photonic-electronic convergence devices for network interfaces, used in transmission equipment and inter-data-centre linksCommercialised (2023)
PEC-2 photonic-electronic convergence switchA 6.4 Tbps optical engine and a 102.4 Tbps CPO switch module, with socket-type optical engines. Aims for about 50% lower power for the switch aloneCommercial samples planned for Q4 2026
PEC-3 optical chipletLinks GPU packages with light. InP-based membrane technology; 0.26 pJ/bit at 64 Gbps demonstrated at device levelCommercial samples planned for 2028
200 GHz-class photodetectorPractical-level reliability at the 200 GHz-class operating speed needed for signalling at around 400 Gbaud. Integrates a semiconductor lensResearch result
Multi-core fibre transmission1.6 terabits per second over a field-deployed multi-core fibre cableResearch result

The "world first" claims (the 200 GHz-class photodetector and the 1.6 Tbps transmission over multi-core fibre) are the company's own wording. The OFC 2024 demonstration was announced as multi-vendor 400G/800G interconnection in collaboration with the IOWN Global Forum and the Open ROADM MSA.

A materials engineer's view: why "membrane"?

The NTT laboratories' membrane devices, which PEC-3 is said to use, are made by turning an InP-based compound semiconductor into a very thin film and placing it on a material such as silicon oxide (SiOx). The diagram in the materials is labelled "Very thin active region", "Optical propagation in III-V semiconductor", "InP taper" and "SiOx waveguide" Sourced. Making the light-emitting active layer thinner shrinks the volume in which light is confined, so a laser can be driven with less current (our explanation). The figures in the materials, 64 Gbps and 0.26 pJ/bit at 10 mA and 50 Gbps and 0.14 pJ/bit at 5 mA, are presented as the result of exactly this low-current operation.

On the other hand, bonding a thin compound semiconductor film onto a different material is an area where defects at the bonded interface and heat dissipation tend to become problems. For optical chiplets that run for long periods right next to a GPU, guaranteeing against heat-related degradation and assuring lifetime are likely to be the keys to volume production Not yet confirmed. NTT has not yet published yield or lifetime figures for volume production.

11. The risks this company carries

RiskSubstanceCategory
Roadmap delays and competitorsThe Annual Securities Report lists as a risk that the IOWN roadmap may not progress as planned, and that competitors in the market may accelerate their technology development and business expansionSourced
Business scale not visibleIOWN-related revenue and investment, and the profit and loss of NTT Innovative Devices, are not published, so profitability cannot be checked from outsideNot yet confirmed
Dependence on partnersIn PEC-2 the switch LSI comes from Broadcom and the switch box from Accton. NTT cannot complete the product on its ownInference
Competition with component makersSpecialist optical component and chip companies are also entering CPO, and there is no track record yet showing whether a carrier's subsidiary can compete on volume production and priceInference
GovernanceThe Annual Securities Report notes that, as the business becomes more sophisticated and complex and new businesses expand, governance may not always function as intendedSourced

12. Glossary

IOWN
Innovative Optical and Wireless Network. NTT's concept for a next-generation communications and computing infrastructure built around light. A trademark of NTT.
APN
All-Photonics Network. A network that carries signals as light all the way, without converting them to electrical signals along the route. The core technology of IOWN.
PEC
Photonics-Electronics Convergence devices (photonic-electronic convergence). NTT sets out its roadmap in generations from PEC-1 to PEC-4.
CPO
Co-Packaged Optics. Mounting the switch LSI and the optical engines close together in the same package.
pJ/bit
The energy needed to send one bit. The smaller, the more power-efficient.
Shoreline density
The communications capacity that can pass through each millimetre of the edge of a chip or package (Tbps/mm).
Membrane device
An optical device made by forming a compound semiconductor into a very thin film on a different material. Described as the NTT laboratories' own technology.
AIOWN
The name NTT gave, in its strategy revision of May 2026, to an AI-native next-generation infrastructure that optimises GPUs, networks, power and more.
Concept diagram: light travelling through a carrier network reaches right up to the switches and computing chips inside a data centre
Fig. 3 Concept diagram of light spreading from the network into the inside of computers under NTT's IOWN initiative (AI-generated concept; it does not depict actual equipment or products).

13. References

  1. NTT, Inc. Annual Securities Report for the 41st fiscal period (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026), filed 16 June 2026 (in Japanese). Key financial indicators, the change of trade name, the revised medium-term strategy (AIOWN), business risks, R&D activities (PEC-3, photonic quantum computing, optical space communications) and R&D expenses. https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/yuho/2025/pdf/41yuho.pdf
  2. NTT Innovative Devices Corporation Development status and outlook of the photonic-electronic convergence switch for realising IOWN 2.0 (6 October 2025, NTT IR briefing materials, in Japanese). The PEC roadmap; PEC-2 specifications, manufacturing capacity, partners and market launch plan; PEC-3 targets and demonstrated values. https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/251006_2.pdf
  3. NTT, Inc. Toward the Future with IOWN: low-power optical computing for the AI era (6 October 2025, NTT CTO briefing materials, in Japanese; subtitle translated). The structure of IOWN, the roadmap, the Expo demonstrations and the history of NTT's optical communications technology. https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/251006_1.pdf
  4. NTT, Inc. Company presentation (February 2026, in Japanese). Securities code. https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/260225.pdf
  5. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation News release: Establishment of Manufacturing Company for Photonics-Electronics Convergence Devices toward Creation of New Value with IOWN (12 May 2023; title of the English version, link to the Japanese release). https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2023/05/12/230512g.html
  6. NTT Innovative Devices Corporation News release: Establishment and start of operations of NTT Innovative Devices Corporation (12 June 2023, in Japanese). https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2023/06/12/230612c.html
  7. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation News release: NTT selected as an implementing company for NEDO's Research and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G Information and Communication Systems (30 January 2024, in Japanese). https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2024/01/30/240130a.html
  8. Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. News release: Selected to Participate in NEDO's "Research and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post 5G Information and Communications Systems / Development of manufacturing technologies for advanced semiconductors" (30 January 2024; title of the English version, link to the Japanese release). Co-contractors and research theme. https://www.furukawaelectric.com/release/2024/comm_20240130.html
  9. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and NTT Communications News release: 400Gbps/800Gbps IOWN APN demonstration at OFC2024 by multi-vendor products leveraging photonics-electronics convergence device and open standards (26 March 2024; title of the English version, link to the Japanese release). https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2024/03/26/240326a.html
  10. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation News release: World's First Successful 1.6 Tbit/s Optical Transmission Experiment with Multi-core Fiber Cable Installed in a Field Environment (5 October 2023; title of the English version, link to the Japanese release). https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2023/10/05/231005a.html
  11. NTT, Inc. News release: NTT Develops World's First Photodetector Combining 200-GHz-Class Speed and High Reliability for Next-Generation Optical Communications (12 March 2026; title of the English version, link to the Japanese release). https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2026/03/12/260312b.html
  12. KDDI, NTT, 1FINITY, NEC, Rakuten Mobile, Oki Electric Industry and Sumitomo Electric Industries Press release: ITU-T Standardizes Framework of Low-Latency and Energy-Efficient Networks to Support the AI Era (21 August 2026; title of the English version issued by 1Finity, link to the Japanese release). https://sumitomoelectric.com/jp/press/2026/08/prs095
  13. Fujikura Ltd. Press release: Agreement reached with US Conec to strengthen manufacturing and sales of PRIZM® TMT expanded beam ferrules and MMC connectors (11 March 2026; title of the English version, link to the Japanese release). That US Conec is a joint venture of Corning, Fujikura and NTT Advanced Technology. https://www.fujikura.co.jp/news/pressrelease/20260311prizm_tmtmmcus_conec.html
  14. NTT, Inc. Official website (source of the company name and logo image). https://group.ntt/jp/

14. Claim-to-source audit

Claim in the articleCategorySource
The change of trade name on 1 July 2025, consolidated operating revenues and headcount over time, consolidated R&D expenses of ¥278.6 billionSourcedReference 1 https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/yuho/2025/pdf/41yuho.pdf
The strategy revision to AIOWN, nationwide APN roll-out and a wider ecosystem for photonic-electronic convergence devices, commercial samples of PEC-3 scheduled for 2028, the cooperation agreement with OptQC, the risk disclosures on IOWN and governanceSourcedReference 1 https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/yuho/2025/pdf/41yuho.pdf
The PEC roadmap (PEC-1 to PEC-4); PEC-2's 102.4 Tbps, 50% reduction, socket-type engine, 3.9 pJ/bit, 0.4 Tbps/mm, 5,000 units per line per month and 2026 launch plan; Broadcom and Accton; the mention of companies related through investment; the role of NIDSourcedReference 2 https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/251006_2.pdf
PEC-3's membrane technology and 0.26 pJ/bit (64 Gbps, 10 mA) and 0.14 pJ/bit (50 Gbps, 5 mA)SourcedReference 2 https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/251006_2.pdf
The structure of IOWN (APN, PEC, DCI), IOWN 1.0 and the commercialisation of PEC-1 in 2023, one-eighth power consumption and the 3,000 km-plus Taiwan to Osaka link at the Expo, the expansion into optical computing, more than 40 years of optical communications R&DSourcedReference 3 https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/251006_1.pdf
Securities code 9432SourcedReference 4 https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/260225.pdf
The aim of founding the photonic-electronic convergence device company, ¥30 billion in capital and capital reserve, the planned merger with NTT ElectronicsSourcedReference 5 https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2023/05/12/230512g.html
The founding and start of operations of NTT Innovative Devices (12 June 2023) and its locationSourcedReference 6 https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2023/06/12/230612c.html
Selection for NEDO's post-5G project and participation in NICT programmesSourcedReference 7 https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2024/01/30/240130a.html
The co-contractors in the NEDO project, the optical chiplet packaging theme and its term to FY2028SourcedReference 8 https://www.furukawaelectric.com/release/2024/comm_20240130.html
The multi-vendor live demonstration of a 400G/800G APN at OFC 2024SourcedReference 9 https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2024/03/26/240326a.html
The 1.6 Tbps transmission experiment over multi-core fibreSourcedReference 10 https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2023/10/05/231005a.html
The 200 GHz-class photodetectorSourcedReference 11 https://group.ntt/jp/newsrelease/2026/03/12/260312b.html
ITU-T Recommendation Y.3335 and the seven Japanese companiesSourcedReference 12 https://sumitomoelectric.com/jp/press/2026/08/prs095
That US Conec is a joint venture of three companies including NTT Advanced TechnologySourcedReference 13 https://www.fujikura.co.jp/news/pressrelease/20260311prizm_tmtmmcus_conec.html
The three types of optical communications companyOur calculationOur own classification. Companies shown are examples from those in this series
IOWN-related revenue, investment and R&D spending; NID's revenue, profit and headcount; whether the Q2 2026 optical engine samples were delivered; the names of the companies related through investmentNot yet confirmedNot in references 1 to 3. Figures from press reports are not used https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/251006_2.pdf
That the performance figures are targets and device-level values, not results from volume productionNot yet confirmedThis article's caution, based on what reference 2 says https://group.ntt/jp/ir/library/presentation/2025/pdf/251006_2.pdf
The reading that NTT will earn revenue by selling optical devices for data centres, and the reading that it has a separate path in compound semiconductor membranesInferenceThis article's interpretation of references 2 and 5
The reading that the socket-type optical engine reflects an operator's design philosophyInferenceThis article's interpretation of reference 2
The explanation that a thin active layer helps low-current operation, and the view that the bonded interface and heat dissipation are keys to volume productionNot yet confirmedThis article's explanation, based on general knowledge of optical semiconductors
The risks of dependence on partners and of competition with component makersInferenceThis article's interpretation of reference 2

Last updated 26 September 2026 / Troy Technical
Every figure in this article comes from the Annual Securities Report, briefing materials and news releases published by NTT, Inc. (formerly Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) and NTT Innovative Devices, and from official releases by Furukawa Electric, Fujikura, Sumitomo Electric Industries and others. No research-firm estimates or press-based figures have been used. Passages marked "Inference" are this article's interpretation of primary sources, not statements made by the company.

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