An optical transceiver in an optical communications network, comprising a receiver configured to receive an optical signal comprising an X-polarization component and a Y-polarization component. The optical transceiver further comprises a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to determine a chromatic dispersion (CD) estimate and a local oscillator frequency offset (LOFO) estimate based on a relationship between a plurality of CD values and a plurality of LOFO values. The optical transceiver further comprises a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the CD estimate, the LOFO estimate, and the optical signal to a downstream component in the optical communications network.