ECO-eNET research was presented at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC 2026), one of the world’s leading events in optical networking and communications, highlighting a significant advance in ensuring reliable and trustworthy network performance.
The paper, “Policy-Driven Conformal Prediction for Trustworthy QoT Estimation,” was presented by Carlos Natalino (Chalmers) and introduces Conformal QoT, a novel policy-driven framework designed to enhance the reliability of Quality of Transmission (QoT) estimation in optical networks.
QoT estimation plays a critical role in determining whether an optical lightpath can be successfully established. However, maintaining accuracy under real-world conditions—particularly when networks experience changing or uncertain environments (known as domain shift)—remains a major challenge.
To address this, the research combines conformal prediction techniques with operational decision policies, enabling statistically guaranteed QoT estimation alongside practical network control strategies. This approach allows for more reliable lightpath feasibility predictions, even under varying network conditions.
Notably, the framework demonstrates a significant improvement in performance, increasing prediction accuracy from 92% to 99.6% on open datasets. This represents a substantial step forward in reducing uncertainty and improving confidence in automated network decision-making.
The research was conducted by Kiarash Rezaei and Paolo Monti (Chalmers Tekniska Högskola), Omran Ayoub (Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana), and Carlos Natalino (Chalmers Tekniska Högskola), reflecting a strong international collaboration aligned with ECO-eNET’s research objectives.
This work directly supports ECO-eNET’s mission to develop intelligent, adaptive, and trustworthy edge networks that integrate optical and wireless technologies. As networks evolve toward 6G and beyond, ensuring dependable and data-driven performance will be essential for enabling scalable, energy-efficient, and resilient communication systems.
Participation at OFC 2026 further underscores ECO-eNET’s contribution to the global research community and its role in advancing cutting-edge innovations in optical networking.