Coherent Announces Industry’s First 100G ZR QSFP28 for Bi-directional Applications – Enabling 10x Capacity on Existing Network Infrastructure

SAXONBURG, Pa., Sept. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR), a global leader in photonics, announces the industry’s first QSFP28 Dual Laser 100G ZR solution that enables broadband providers to efficiently maximize capacity on existing fiber infrastructure.

The Coherent 100G ZR QSFP-DCO is the industry’s first dual laser QSFP28 digital coherent optics (DCO) module for single fiber, bi-directional applications – a breakthrough for network operators in access and aggregation networks.

“Traditionally, the benefits of coherent optics have been limited to dual fiber networks, but innovations like these give operators the ability to leverage the performance of coherent optics, across a range of network architectures,” said Sunny Sun, Executive Vice President, Communications at Coherent.

“This innovation enables us to seamlessly deploy the benefits of coherent optics more pervasively throughout our network and gives us greater flexibility to expand our network to new and underserved communities,” said Elad Nafshi, Chief Network Officer at Comcast. “With help from this and similar technologies, we’re essentially doubling our fiber inventory, enhancing capacity by 10x and increasing reach while reducing the amount of power it takes to operate this critical fiber equipment, enabling Comcast and other operators to more efficiently, effectively and broadly deliver next generation connectivity to customers.”

The Dual Laser 100G ZR QSFP-DCO integrates two independently tunable lasers – one for transmit and one for the local oscillator – into a compact pluggable module. The solution is powered by the Steelerton™ DSP, the proprietary low-power digital signal processor (DSP) by Coherent that is optimized for 100G deployments. This pluggable module enables IP-over-DWDM transmission over a single working fiber, a key enabler to expand capacity 10x on existing 10Gb/s network infrastructure at the lowest power dissipation and overall cost per bit.

The Coherent Dual Laser 100G ZR QSFP-DCO is sampling now to key customers and will be generally available in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking a major step forward in enabling more flexible, scalable, and cost-efficient optical access solutions for service providers adapting to surging bandwidth demand.

About Coherent 

Coherent is the global photonics leader. We harness photons to drive innovation. Industry leaders in the datacenter, communications, and industrial markets rely on Coherent’s world-leading technology to fuel their own innovation and growth.

Founded in 1971 and operating in more than 20 countries, Coherent brings the industry’s broadest, deepest technology stack; unmatched supply chain resilience; and global scale to help its customers solve their toughest technology challenges. For more information, visit us at .

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