System innovations in open WDM DCI networks

We review the most important WDM system innovations motivated by the evolution of DCI transport. State-of-the-art coherent transmission has already exceeded 6 b/s/Hz in transatlantic deployments. Moreover, the adoption of software innovations in automation and programmability, which DCI pioneered in transport networks, has also simplified operations and enables the emergence of open transport architectures. Combining these advances with emerging network analytic frameworks allows exciting innovations in network design and management optimization.