UTStarcom Unveils Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) Solution for AI Data Centers at CIOE 2026

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UTStarcom Holdings Corp. (“UT” “UTStarcom” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: UTSI), a global networking solutions provider, made its inaugural appearance at the 27th China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE 2026), held September 9–11 at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. Exhibiting from a dedicated booth, UTStarcom highlighted its extensive optical networking expertise and unveiled concept prototypes of its next-generation Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) platform designed specifically for AI data center (AI DC) networking infrastructure.

Among a wide variety of optoelectronic applications, CIOE 2026 served as a global stage for leading optoelectronic and optical communications innovators addressing the demanding computing requirements of the AI era. As AI clusters continue to scale, traditional copper interconnects and electrical packet switches (EPS) increasingly encounter power, latency, and thermal constraints. The OCS solutions presented by UTStarcom at the event focus directly on dismantling these barriers by introducing a dynamic, all-optical switching layer into the fabrics of AI data centers.

By eliminating power-intensive Optical-Electrical-Optical (O-E-O) conversions and packet processing at the corresponding AI network layers, UTStarcom’s integrated OCS solution addresses these scaling constraints across three dimensions:

• Enhanced AI Cluster Performance: Operating alongside traditional EPS in hybrid AI data center architectures, OCS provides an automated, dynamically reconfigurable optical layer. By offloading high-volume AI traffic onto direct photonic paths while enabling dynamic topology changes, resource pooling, and optical-layer redundancy, it eliminates buffer-related queuing delays and cuts packet loss and latency during large-scale model training and inference.
• Lower CAPEX and OPEX: Reduces the number of required optical transceivers while lowering power consumption, cooling requirements, and rack footprint.
• Protocol- and Bit-Rate-Agnostic Scalability: Provides protocol- and bit-rate-transparent fiber channels that can accommodate future increases in optical line rates without replacing the physical switching fabric.
  
  

Public Debut of UTStarcom’s OCS Concept Prototypes

During the exposition, UTStarcom unveiled the concept prototypes of its OCS platform alongside its in-house software management ecosystem. The platform remains in active development and comprises the following elements:

• UOS64 (Silicon Photonics Platform): A 64x64-radix OCS concept prototype based on Silicon Photonics (SiPho) technology. Engineered around chip-scale Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), it is designed to provide fast optical switching, high-density integration, and scalable optical path automation.
• MOS64 (MEMS Platform): A 64x64-radix OCS concept prototype built on Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) micro-mirror core technology, designed to deliver low insertion loss, minimal channel crosstalk, and fast optical path switching.
• OCS platform software & SOO Station OCS management platform: UTStarcom’s SONiC-based OCS platform software, paired with the Company’s SDN controller. Through open Southbound and Northbound Interfaces (SBI/NBI), the software layer allows upper-layer orchestrators to automate optical-path provisioning, implement topology-on-demand and streamline optical fabric management.
  
  

Executive Commentary

Dr. Lingrong Lu, Chief Technology Officer of UTStarcom, commented: "Addressing the massive data workloads of next-generation AI clusters requires a fundamental rethink of networking strategies. By bringing both Silicon Photonics and MEMS-based OCS prototypes to CIOE 2026, we demonstrated our vision for a transparent, highly automated optical layer. Exhibiting these concept prototypes allowed us to gather vital technical feedback directly from potential customers and ecosystem partners, ensuring our ongoing R&D roadmap aligns seamlessly with real-world AI deployment requirements."

Mr. Hua Li, Chief Executive Officer of UTStarcom, added: "The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure represents a transformative growth opportunity for optical networking. CIOE 2026 confirmed strong industry interest in flexible, reliable OCS platforms, and the engagement at our booth validated our strategic decision to prioritize AI DC solutions. UTStarcom remains fully committed to continuing investments into product development and working alongside global partners to bring a production-ready OCS portfolio to market."

About UTStarcom Holdings Corp.

UTStarcom provides innovative, reliable, and cost-effective networking solutions worldwide. The Company’s high-performance product portfolio spans high-growth networking domains, including AI data center network infrastructure, telecom mobile backhaul, metro aggregation, and broadband access. UTStarcom is headquartered in Hangzhou, China, and supports operations and customers around the world. UTStarcom was founded in 1991 and listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market since 2000 (symbol: UTSI). For more information about UTStarcom, please visit http://www.utstar.com.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

UTStarcom Holdings Corp.
Tel: +86 571 8192 8888
Ms. Shelley Jiang, Investor Relations
Email: utsi-ir@utstar.com /  shelleyjiang@utstar.com