The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced that it has decided to provide support of over 45 billion yen to a development project in which multiple Japanese companies, led by NTT, are participating, in order to commercialize next-generation communication networks using optical technology. did.
NTT's next-generation communications network concept, called "IOWN," aims to use optical technology to achieve faster speeds, larger capacity, and significantly lower power consumption than current communications.
According to the announcement, in order to realize this concept, NTT has launched a project in which KIOXIA and NEC are also participating, and is developing "optoelectronic convergence devices" that will be able to control electronic equipment with light, as well as other semiconductors. This means working on the development of technology that uses light to exchange data.
The project will involve collaboration with Intel, an American semiconductor giant with world-class technology and knowledge in semiconductor development, and South Korea's SK Hynix.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will provide a total of up to 45.2 billion yen in support for this development project, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saito said at a press conference after the cabinet meeting that ``Information processing will continue to improve as digitalization progresses, including the use of AI.'' "We hope that faster information transmission and lower power consumption will lead to a game change in the future."