There's a few companies out there trying to keep copper alive. POET needs to kick it into high gear.

100Gbit/s on copper: we've got IP for that says Aquantia

http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/news/100gbits-copper-weve-got-ip-says-aquantia

"We've figured out that if you could support 100Gbit/s on copper for up to 3 meters, we would serve a sizeable portion of the hyperscale data center market, without the costs of deploying optical fiber", continued Delansay.

Listening to companies like Facebook, LinkedIn or Juniper Networks, Aquantia's Co-Founder notes that although 100 Gigabit Ethernet is the future, 100Gbit/s optical transceivers are considered as too expensive for massive deployment. Somehow, the industry seems to be ready to pay up to $1/1G for 100G links. A price tag unreachable with optics.

"Hence, why not keep optical fibers for long distances only?" suggests Delansay, confident that Aquantia's QuantumStream technology will deliver 100Gbit/s on a single-lane of copper at an unbeatable price."