Optical networks carry huge amounts of data across cities, regions and continents. As networks grow and new technologies are introduced, engineers need to know how proposed changes will perform before they are deployed. A new transceiver, amplifier or network configuration can affect transmission quality, capacity and compatibility with other equipment.

MIMOPT Technology is a deep-tech startup founded in 2021 as a Télécom Paris spin-off. The company offers advanced services for optical communication systems, using its proprietary simulation platform and deep-tech expertise to help operators, vendors and research institutions design, validate and optimize optical networks. It covers fiber, free-space optics and satellite communications.

Modeling Optical Networks Before Deployment

MIMOPT’s proprietary simulator creates a digital version of an optical network that engineers can use to model and test different configurations. The platform works across multi-vendor environments, allowing users to model optical infrastructure, run capacity upgrade scenarios, compare design options, validate quality-of-transmission margins, and test configurations before making hardware changes.

The software is provided through a locally installed platform with a graphical interface and does not require scripting or coding. Users can model fiber, free-space optical, and satellite links within one workspace. The platform is designed for both live and pre-production networks, giving engineers a way to examine proposed changes before deployment.

One Platform, Three Services

MIMOPT offers three ways to use its technology. The MIMOPT Software Solution gives customers access to the proprietary simulator for optical network planning, testing and validation. Consultancy provides specialist analysis for specific network challenges. MIMOPT's optical communications specialists can analyze an existing network, digitize the infrastructure in the simulator, evaluate different scenarios and deliver a technical report with performance indicators or a pre-configured simulator.

The third service is Research, Innovation & Development. MIMOPT works with organizations evaluating new optical technologies, including 800G-plus coherent systems, digital signal processing algorithms, AI and machine-learning quality-of-transmission models and next-generation transceivers. The simulator can be used to study these technologies across fiber, free-space optical and satellite links and compare different scenarios before technical or investment decisions are made.

A Digital Twin for Optical Infrastructure

The MIMOPT Simulator functions as an optical network Digital Twin, bringing physical-layer planning and digital signal processing evaluation into one workspace. The platform is designed for multi-vendor and disaggregated networks, allowing equipment from different vendors to be studied within the same simulation environment. MIMOPT says its predictions have been validated against real-world networks.

This Digital Twin can also address the multi-vendor challenges found in modern optical networks. Different transceivers, amplifiers and ROADMs can use different performance models, making it difficult to evaluate an entire network through separate vendor tools. MIMOPT's simulator provides one environment for modeling the full optical transmission chain and examining network performance across different equipment.

ABOUT | GHAYA REKAYA-BEN OTHMAN

Ghaya Rekaya-Ben Othman is CEO and Co-Founder of MIMOPT Technology. She is an expert in MIMO and optical communications and has worked across optical transmission and digital signal processing. MIMOPT was founded in 2021 as a spin-off from Télécom Paris, where Rekaya-Ben Othman has also pursued academic and research work in optical communications.

Her work includes research into optical transmission technologies and signal-processing techniques. A 2023 Optical Fiber Communication Conference paper co-authored by Rekaya-Ben Othman examined an MIMO coding technique for mitigating polarization-dependent loss and inter-channel crosstalk in optical fiber transmission. At MIMOPT, she leads the company's work on optical network simulation and Digital Twin technology for operators, vendors, and research institutions.