A system and method for dispersion compensation of an optical signal in a hybrid network includes generating optical traffic in a first set of one or more channels, wherein the traffic in the first set of channels is modulated using a first modulation technique. Optical traffic is generated in a second set of one or more channels, wherein the traffic in the second set of channels is modulated using a second modulation technique. An optical dispersion pre-compensation is applied to the second set of channels. The first set of channels and the second set of channels are combined to form an optical signal, and the optical signal is transmitted over an optical network.