The Optical Internetworking Forum, based in Fremont, Calif., has announced the creation of the Physical Layer User Working Group to bring equipment manufacturers and system vendors together to provide technical advice and perspective to the Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group. The new group will develop requirements and guidelines for components, modules, subsystems and communications links used in networking equipment.

In other news, the forum has merged two sectors to form the Architecture and Signaling Working Group to more efficiently advance the respective technologies. Also, the PLL group has announced a project to address tunable laser technology. The Small Form Factor Integratable Tunable Laser Assembly Multi Source Agreement is in response to network equipment vendors' efforts to reduce size and power.