Welcome RemarksDear friends, presenters, and supporters of the iPOP Conference, Welcome to iPOP 2025, which will be held for the third time at NICT Koganei. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the iPOP International Conference, sponsored by Photonic Internet Labs (PIL) and ISOCORE. Since its inception, the conference has consistently enjoyed strong attendance, attracting diverse and engaged participants in person. iPOP 2025 is planned as a fully in-person conference and will feature showcases and exhibitions. It will be held on July 17–18, 2025, at NICT Koganei. NICT hosting this event is known as one of Japan’s leading centers of excellence in research. For this year's event, we are expanding the central theme of the conference to focus on the development of an all-photonic network (APN) toward 6G networks. In 6G networks, not only massive bandwidth but also ultra-low latency and environmentally friendly technologies will be essential. New breakthroughs are required to support these advancements. Additionally, we will continue covering network topics related to flexible services such as SDN and NFV, emphasizing reliability, manageability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. Data center networks are evolving from standalone centers to distributed architectures. Optical high-bandwidth interconnects among data centers in metro areas will play a crucial role. Cloud-led and edge computing remain key research topics, and an all-optical network serves as the fundamental platform for these data centers and in-network computing. Generative AI is getting momentum, and next-generation AI-centric network architectures are emerging through IP+Optical technologies. Mobile access network integration, including 5G, remains a hot topic. AI and data analytics will enable reliable and highly efficient network operations. The IOWN initiative, an all-photonic digital twin network architecture led by Intel, Sony, and NTT, has launched its first commercial service. Additionally, the Japanese government has started an all-photonic network platform project in collaboration with research teams, tower providers, and data center application providers. This year marks the true starting point for APN development. We hope you will join us in person at iPOP 2025 and contribute with your presentations. We look forward to your participation and support in making this event a great success!
March, 2025 |