On 14 July, the LUMIRing Hub welcomed Scott Cassidy, representative of Ciena, for an in-depth visit to one of the world’s most advanced terrestrial multicore fiber (MCF) research infrastructures.

From the very beginning of the visit, Scott Cassidy was impressed by the scale and ambition of the LUMIRing project. The extensive deployment of its dual underground rings, the remarkable number of installed multicore fibers, the unprecedented multicore splicing campaign, and the enormous transmission distances that can be emulated within the testbed highlighted the uniqueness of the infrastructure.

Particularly striking was the fact that all of this has been achieved in the demanding environment of the Lisbon Metro. Subjected to continuous vibrations, pressure variations, temperature fluctuations, and the operational constraints of an active underground transport system, LUMIRing provides a level of realism that few—if any—optical communication testbeds worldwide can match.

Recognizing the strategic importance of this capability, Scott Cassidy expressed his intention to present the project to colleagues at Ciena’s research laboratories in the United Statesand Guadalajara, Mexico. With multicore fiber widely regarded as one of the key enabling technologies for future high-capacity optical networks, he emphasized the value of establishing a collaboration between Ciena and the LUMIRing consortium.

The visit reinforced LUMIRing’s growing international recognition as a unique platform for validating next-generation optical communication technologies under real operating conditions. As the race toward multicore fiber deployment accelerates worldwide, partnerships between leading industrial innovators and pioneering research infrastructures such as LUMIRing will play a decisive role in shaping the future of optical networking.

For LUMIRing, the visit marks another important step in expanding its global network of collaborations and strengthening its position as a reference testbed for the next generation of optical communications.