Several major Japanese telecommunications companies have successfully secured international recognition for a new framework designed to support low-latency and energy-efficient networks in the AI era. The framework, developed by KDDI Corporation, NTT, Inc., 1Finity Inc., NEC Corporation, Rakuten Mobile, Inc., Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., was approved as an international standard by the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) on August 13, 2026.
This framework is a significant step towards realizing the All-Photonics Network (APN), a key component of Japan’s strategy for next-generation information and communication infrastructure. The APN aims to provide high-capacity, low-latency, and energy-efficient communications, facilitating real-time data processing from remote sensors and robots.
The IOWN Global Forum, an organization focused on promoting APN-based next-generation communication infrastructure, is currently developing technical documents on APN architecture and functional requirements. Concurrently, research on photonic network federation technology, which ensures stable interconnection among APNs from different providers, is progressing. This research is crucial for developing interconnection methods and evaluating them with actual equipment.
Despite the progress, achieving global interoperability and adoption of the APN framework requires broad international consensus. To address this, Japanese telecommunications operators and equipment manufacturers have spearheaded the development of this standardized framework, now known as Recommendation ITU-T Y.3335. This framework outlines network configurations and technical requirements for low-latency, energy-efficient communication paths across different operators.
The ITU-T's approval provides a universal framework for APN, facilitating the creation of APN services that span multiple operators and offer high-speed, energy-efficient communication services across geographically distributed sites. The seven companies involved will continue to promote standardization activities both in Japan and internationally, leveraging the network technologies and expertise developed in Japan.
Within ITU-T, these companies are also contributing to the development of a recommendation on the functional architecture for low-latency and energy-efficient networks, expected by October 2028. Their ongoing efforts aim to support the global adoption of APN, aligning with the demands of the AI era.
Comments are closed.