The Road to Ethernet 2026 

In Ethernet’s first 20 years its rate increases increased religiously by a factor of 10.  This forever changed in 2007 when it was noted that computing and networking applications were growing at different rates, and the then “Higher Speed Study Group” decided to add both 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s to the Ethernet portfolio.  The Ethernet community now finds itself developing six new speeds, targeted for completion within the next 5 years.  This philosophical approach to introducing new rates of Ethernet cannot be attributed to one single factor, as applications’ refresh cycles, needs and economics, combined with technology developments and challenges, to exert a tremendous influence on Ethernet’s current course.  

As the Ethernet community is in the midst of this intense development trajectory, the industry must begin asking itself – “What’s Next?”  To start that discussion, the Ethernet Alliance is hosting a one-day Technology Exploration Forum (TEF) to explore the market demands and technology challenges that will mark the next 10 years and lead us to Ethernet 2026.  From the discussion of potential applications in the vast consumer to carrier spaces to the exploration of fundamental technologies that will drive the realities of the solutions for these new applications, this event promises to be the most forward looking event ever.