Fiber Focus

Multi-core fiber has been proving its value in subsea applications for years. Multiple cores packed into a single fiber multiply bandwidth without multiplying space. Now this technology is making its way into next-generation data centers, and the possibilities are extraordinary. Loren Rapp, product line manager for fiber optic cable at Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, breaks down how multi-core fiber...

In this episode of Fiber Focus, Yuko Agano discusses what actually drives the life cycle of a fiber network. From material degradation to evolving design standards to the role of routine maintenance, Yuko draws on her experience as product manager for FutureFLEX® Air-Blown Fiber® solutions, making a compelling case for why the pathway can matter as much as the fiber inside it. The longer your fibe...

Not every data center needs liquid cooling – yet. But as rack densities climb into the territory that AI and high-performance computing demand, the conversation is changing fast.   Josh Seawell, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave's director of product management, returns to Fiber Focus to cut through the noise on one of the hottest topics in the industry. He shares the key threshold where liquid cooling...

When Lauren Deloatch hits the road, she isn't just visiting customers – she’s walking into communities where massive data center projects are reshaping daily life. As a program manager of outreach with Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, Lauren is spending time in towns where land, power, and water make AI factories possible. Some residents are energized by the prospect of thousands of construction jobs...

We are back with Greg Pierce in the studio! As senior product manager specializing in hyperscale data center and enterprise network hardware products, Greg is up close every day with fiber optic connector innovations. He summarizes the current state of connectivity evolution, exploring both the upsides and challenges related to next-generation connector types. This conversation covers topics inclu...

Fiber optic cable is not one thing. It is a precision-engineered and manufactured whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. The high-quality optical fibers, coating, jacketing, strength members – all integral parts and materials – together form the backbone of the digital age.  In this episode of Fiber Focus, Loren Rapp contributes her insight on this complex supply chain as product line man...

Fiber Focus pulled James Deane away from his desk for this episode to discuss his work as senior product design engineer for Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s fiber optic cables.  Driven to make a positive impact on society through engineering, James considers every person who his work impacts, beginning with material mining and extending all the way through a cable’s lifecycle. Especially as it relat...

This episode of Fiber Focus features Josh Seawell, our director of product management, who is enthusiastic about the ways AI is poised to change people’s lives at home and work. For network operators, that potential comes with extraordinary opportunity in the near term to both deliver and seize tremendous value. The path to those customer experiences (and revenue) is through strategic investments...

At a time when hyperscale network infrastructure projects are consuming most of the available bandwidth – both literally and figuratively – product manager Yuko Agano is here to let everyone else in on some good news.  Air-blown fiber technologies are consistently available to ship in two to three weeks!  Sumitomo Electric Lightwave manufactures air-blown fiber bundles right here in Raleigh, North...

Sean Kelly, RCDD, general manager and technical director at Light Brigade, visited Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina for this episode of Fiber Focus. Early in his nearly 30 years in the industry, Sean helped develop some of the innovative connector products that shape today’s networks. Now his heart is set on evolving and improving the industry through its workf...

When the clock is ticking and lead times grow longer, solid manufacturer/customer relationships are invaluable. In his more than 35 years of telecom experience, senior product manager Greg Pierce has seen it all. He reflects in this episode of Fiber Focus on the state of the industry, especially how massive, AI-fueled demand is straining global manufacturing capacity for fiber optic cabling and co...

Previously on Fiber Focus, we discussed how artificial intelligence and machine learning are rapidly consuming the industry’s supply of high-performance, high-density network products. Loren Rapp dives deeper in this episode. As Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s product line manager for fiber optic cable, Loren has day-in and day-out supply chain experience. Listen in for her insights on the creative...

A July 2025 Synergy Research Group report projected that hyperscale capacity will increase threefold through the next six years. Josh Seawell, our director of product management, read about the report in Cabling Installation & Maintenance magazine and hopped on this episode of Fiber Focus to discuss it. While hyperscalers are expected to represent the lion’s share of oncoming demand for fiber...

Yuko Agano returns to Fiber Focus for this episode discussing how air-blown fiber (ABF) technologies can help address rising project costs. With labor making up 60-80 percent of the price tag for a typical network build, streamlining the number of installers and reducing their time on-site can yield significant savings. As Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s product manager for FutureFLEX® Air-Blown Fib...

“This will be the field I retire. I love it. I’d never heard of it before.” After serving in the U.S. Navy, Andrew Degidio embarked on a new career journey in telecom. He got his start as a field service engineer without ever laying eyes on a fusion splicing machine, and now he is Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s senior technical manager focusing on fusion splicer development and support. In this epi...

Meet Lauren Deloatch. She was the marketing director for a golf club when she was recruited by Sumitomo Electric Lightwave nearly 10 years ago. Since then, Lauren’s contributions to the telecom industry have included the free, two-day Fusion Splicing Certificate Course that she developed in collaboration with AWS and Pearson. Join us for an engaging conversation about Lauren’s career-pivoting expe...

Fiber Focus welcomes Dwayne Holst to this episode for a preview of the next breakthrough in data center network design. A data center optical communications researcher with Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, Dwayne is currently working on “digital twinning,” creating network simulations that enable data center operators to view and optimize a virtual version of their complete physical networks before or...

In the 30+ years that air-blown fiber (ABF) has been deployed in North America, industry results show that it is the ideal installation technology in specific scenarios. Yuko Agano, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s product manager supporting air-blown fiber and cable technologies, returns to this episode of Fiber Focus to outline installations where ABF can deliver better installation speed, labor sa...

Sumitomo Electric Lightwave offers a broad portfolio of leading-edge connectivity products and solutions, but how does the company respond when customers need a unique solution for their network challenges that industry manufacturers are not yet prepared to meet? In this episode of Fiber Focus, Josh Seawell, our director of product management, shares stories of recent customer collaborations that...

Many of the products in Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s portfolio were brought to life through customer collaboration. Greg Pierce, senior product manager for Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s connectivity products, is back to describe a lean, efficient rack-mount panel offering as an example of customer-driven innovation. Designed hand-in-hand with enterprise customers, our 1RU-3RU panels delivered on...

In this episode of Fiber Focus, Teylor Bremekamp, PMP, RCDD, discusses his path from aerospace engineering to becoming a fiber network design engineer with Sumitomo Electric Lightwave. Teylor’s 10 years of industry experience have led him to consider the imperative of bringing more people into the industry to step into ever-increasing telecom jobs. While many of these roles are highly specialized,...

Air-blown fiber® and microduct cable have a few things in common, but they are not the same. In this episode of Fiber Focus, Yuko Agano, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s product manager supporting air-blown fiber, breaks down the differences between these products. In contrast to the conventional method of pulling cable through conduits, both air-blown fiber and microduct cable are blown through cond...

Josh Seawell, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s director of product management, returns to Fiber Focus for a conversation about splicing 200 micron pliable fiber optic ribbon cable. Given its role in enabling the AI Boom and solving for space limitations within data center footprints, 200 micron fiber adoption will continue to surge. For splice technicians, that translates to projects where they could...

Starting with the first loose tube fiber optic cable of the 1970s, Loren Rapp, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s product line manager for fiber optic cable, highlights the key drivers in the evolution of cable design. Initial designs focused on providing protection for fibers being pulled in long-haul applications – either by hand across land or by boat in oceanic deployments – to enable telephone and...

Not all fiber optic patch panels are built the same. Greg Pierce, senior product manager for Sumitomo Electric Lightwave’s connectivity products, dives into the reasons why one customer may choose a fully factory-connectorized “plug and play” solution and another would opt for an empty “no bells, no whistles” panel. Pre-connectorization comes with many advantages: high-quality work completed in a...