An optical transmitter determines the transfer function in the reference-based pre-equalization for applying to an optically modulated signal at the transmitter. The determined pre-equalization transfer function is made robust to linewidth inaccuracy of the optical source by performing phase correction during the calculation of the pre-equalization transfer function. The phase correction includes averaging a number of consecutive received phase samples. The determined pre-equalization transfer function is applied to modulated signals prior to the transmission over an optical medium.