According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a bidirectional communications system includes a first non-blocking network including a bidirectional optical switch, a plurality of nodes, a plurality of optical transceivers connected between the bidirectional optical switch and the plurality of nodes, each optical transceiver including a transmitter, a receiver and an optical combiner, and a second network connected to at least one of the nodes and the at least one at least one bidirectional optical switch for control of a crossconnect.