There are provided an optical transponder having a first end and a second end, as well as an electric switch having the transponder. The transponder includes an optical interface, at the first end, having a variable rate optical transmitter and a variable rate optical receiver to respectively transmit and receive signals using at least one of different bandwidths and different bit rates. The transponder further includes an electrical interface, at the second end, having an electrical interface throughput matching an optical capacity of the optical interface. The transponder also includes a processor for controlling the optical capacity.