29th International Conference on
Optical Network Design and Modelling
ONDM 2025

Following the path of previous editions, ONDM 2025 calls for contributions for cutting-edge research advances in optical network engineering spanning the user, control and/or management planes through the access, metro and core segments. The conference scope also includes the design and modelling of networks based on advanced photonic, packet transport and wireless technologies integrated with optical networks.

ONDM 2025’s edition motto is: Gazing at future optical networks

Communications networks and computing are expected to massively interact in the envisioned edge cloud continuum, unlocking the full potential of AI. In this scenario, optical networks will play a crucial role for enabling a low latency and high-capacity transport network. They will also benefit from the exploitation of computational resources to implement disaggregated network functions that could be easily upgraded and deployed and AI-based network management. However, the main challenge that shall be faced is how to get the best from both worlds.

This challenge calls for the development of novel optical network architectures and designs, based on optical network disaggregation models, exploiting and integrating new multidimensional photonic technologies, as well as adopting open and highly programmable hardware and software platforms that need to deal with the new spatial/band/modulation dimensions in a scalable way. The objective is to meet this challenge with improved efficiency, flexibility, availability, autonomy, security, resiliency and intelligence, while featuring real seamless integration of IP and optical layers.

The scope of the conference includes, but is not limited to, the following topics, with a special request to include scalability analysis in the work where relevant:

• Multiple optical planes vs single plane techno-economic analysis
• Multi-core optical spatial division multiplexed (SDM) networks
• Multi-band optical switching and grooming
• Benchmarking the scalability of network designs
• Zero-touch network and service management at scale
• Digital twin-based management and design
• Advances in optical network modelling and optimization
• Application of ML/AI in optical networks
• Routing and spectrum assignment in fixed and flex-grid flex-modulation optical networks
• Optical network availability, resilience, survivability, security and privacy
• Optical-packet transport
• Designing and optimizing large QKD networks
• Quantum Networks on the road to the Quantum Internet
• Optical networks exploiting photonic integrated circuits
• Visible light communications and networks
• Photonics-based Non-terrestrial networks
• Free Space Optical communication
• Optical and wireless network convergence, including radio-over-fibre access networks
• Optical networks in 6G: backhaul, midhaul and fronthaul networking
• Novel and multidimensional optical network architectures
• Multi-mode/few-modes/multi-core optical spatial division multiplexed (SDM) networks
• Novel optical node designs including disaggregation and open optical line systems
• Intra-/inter-data centre connectivity for cloud/edge computing
• Optical network control, management and orchestration including SDN and NFV solutions
• Slicing, service chaining, virtualization and multi-tenancy techniques
• Novel network telemetry and real-time monitoring technologies for optical networks
• Energy efficient and sustainable networks
• Impact of the hollow fibre revolution in network design
• Optical networking in support of vertical industries
• Field trials and interoperability demonstrations
• Network function acceleration on Smart NICs
• In-network computing

Important dates

Submission

Authors are encouraged to submit either abstract / short papers (3 pages) or full papers (up to 6 pages) in standard IEEE conference style (https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html), describing original, unpublished research results, not currently under review by another conference or journal, addressing forefront research and development in the area of optical network design and modelling. IEEE ComSoc, IEEE Photonics Society, and IFIP Technical co-sponsorship in process. Authors of 3-page papers must ensure their papers are formatted correctly (i.e., they are exactly 3 completely filled pages). Only PDF files with all fonts embedded are accepted. Authors must submit their papers electronically through the submission system (updates will follow).

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