XKL Launches 1RU MediaLight Optical Systems With Zero License Fees
Redmond, Wash. – September 16, 2026 -- XKL LLC has begun global shipments of its MediaLight Xponder and Muxponder systems, a 1RU optical transport platform offering 100G and 400G capacity with zero recurring software licensing fees, the company announced. The systems started shipping to customers in August 2026, targeting enterprise, cloud, and regional service provider networks facing hardware lead times of 20 to 60-plus weeks industry-wide.
Compact chassis packs 24 license-free transceiver ports into a single rack unit
The MediaLight platform consolidates high-density optical transport into a 1RU form factor, eliminating multi-linecard chassis complexity. Each unit supports 24 license-free QSFP-DD/QSFP28 transceiver ports with soft-configurable 100G and 400G transport, reducing rack space and power consumption compared to legacy multi-card systems.