The present invention relates to a Power over Ethernet system (100) which supports additional optical communication via optical fibres. The powered devices (d1, d2, d3) may comprise circuitry to process optical signals, in particular triggering activation of the powered device (d1, d2, d3) after being in a low power state. The power supplying devices (s1-s6) may relay optical signals via direct optical paths. Optical paths in the network may improve timing accuracy of applications. The overall power consumption of the system may be improved in particular during low activity situations in which the system is primarily used for data communication. The additional optical communication paths may provide redundant paths and thus may increase the network's robustness.