Open DWDM data center interconnect solutions have achieved a significant milestone in 2025: deployment by Tier-1 carriers across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, validating the open architecture model for mission-critical transport networks.
Notable deployments in 2025:
• Europe: A major European carrier completed a 400G ZR+ open DCI deployment spanning 12 cities, using coherent pluggables from three different module vendors over a vendor-neutral OLS—a demonstration of true multi-vendor interoperability.
• Middle East: A Gulf carrier deployed 400G ZR+ open DCI connecting five data centers across three countries, citing 45% cost savings compared to the proprietary transponder alternative.
• Asia-Pacific: A Southeast Asian national carrier deployed open DCI for island-to-island connectivity, using submarine DWDM line systems with coherent pluggable modules supplied by SZVAN and other compatible module manufacturers.
The open DCI model's advantages are increasingly well-documented:
• Cost reduction: 40–60% lower per-bit cost compared to proprietary solutions, driven by competitive module pricing and eliminated vendor lock-in.
• Flexibility: The ability to upgrade or replace module vendors without changing the line system infrastructure.
• Innovation pace: Faster access to new technologies (e.g., 800G ZR) as they become available, without waiting for a single vendor's product cycle.
SZVAN's Open DWDM DCI product line, now deployed in production networks across three continents, exemplifies our strategy of combining mainstream compatible modules with differentiated specialist solutions.
