21 March 2025

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Electric), and 3M announce an assembler agreement enabling Sumitomo Electric to offer variety of optical fiber connectivity products featuring 3M™ Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) Interconnect technology, a high-performance solution to meet scalability needs of next-generation data centers and advanced network architectures.

EBO technology from 3M, available in both single-mode and multi-mode configurations, is a high-performance, scalable solution optimized for hyperscale data centers and edge computing environments. Its non-physical contact optical coupling helps minimize wear and sensitivity to contamination, significantly reducing installation time and effort as well as maintenance requirements. Such benefits will provide significant advantages to respond to rapid increase of fiber network development in scale.

Sumitomo Electric has developed its own termination equipment of 3M™ Expanded Beam Optical Ferrule utilizing its unique technologies including world leading fusion splicer technologies, and readied its global operations capacity and distribution network to offer 12- and 16-fiber EBO cable assemblies featuring the 3M Expanded Beam Optical Ferrule. And Sumitomo Electric is developing a full EBO solution around the technology. In addition to factory-connectorized assemblies, the line will include patch panels, interconnect panels, cassettes, and pre-connectorized high fiber count cable.

“We partner with industry leaders like 3M to develop award-winning, next-generation-thinking solutions, ensuring that Sumitomo Electric’s connectivity portfolio is uniquely positioned to help operators cost-effectively stay on top of the increasing demands on their data centers,” said Kazumasa Ozawa, Executive Officer at Sumitomo Electric.

“This agreement with Sumitomo Electric Industries continues to emphasize 3M’s commitment to the future of data infrastructure,” said Kevin Twomey, global portfolio director for 3M's electronics materials solutions division. “3M’s Expanded Beam Optical Ferrule is optimized for hyperscale data centers and edge computing environments and we are thrilled to partner with Sumitomo Electric to provide reliable, scalable solutions.

Sumitomo Electric will debut the new assemblies at OFC 2025, April 1-3, in San Francisco, California. Visit Sumitomo Electric (booth 3342) to learn more. For updates, connect with us online and on X.
OFC 2025 Official Web site: https://www.ofcconference.org/en-us/home/

ABOUT SUMITOMO ELECTRIC Industries, Ltd.
Sumitomo Electric is a global corporate group founded in 1897, comprised of more than 400 affiliates, and over 290,000 employees in about 40 countries worldwide. Together, they are a leading-edge force advancing information and communications technology.
Official Web site: https://sumitomoelectric.com/

About 3M
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