A coherent optical transmitter is in operable communication with an optical fiber an includes a plurality of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) configured to (i) receive a plurality of radio frequency analog input signals, respectively, and (ii) convert the received plurality of RF analog input signals into a plurality of respective digital data streams. The transmitter further includes a source laser configured to output at least two orthogonal polarization component signals, and at least two polarization modulators configured to modulate (i) an in-phase portion output from a first ADC, (ii) an in-quadrature portion output from a second ADC, and (iii) one polarization component signal of the at least two orthogonal polarization component signals. The transmitter further includes a polarization beam combiner configured to (i) multiplex the respective outputs of the at least two polarization modulators, and (ii) transmit the multiplexed output from the polarization beam combiner to the optical fiber.