Verizon and Nokia Siemens Networks are getting closer to being able to transmit commercial traffic at a speed of 100 gigabits per
second (Gbps). The two companies carried out a successful 100 Gbps
transmission on a single wavelength for more than 1,040 kilometers over
field fiber, setting a new distance record and demonstrating better
performance than conventional transmission.
The field trial, conducted on optical fiber on the Verizon network
in north Dallas, successfully proved that 100 Gbps signals can be
simultaneously transported with 10 Gbps and 40 Gbps signals on the same
system with superior results by using advanced optical techniques.
The Nokia Siemens hiT 7500 ultra-long-haul,
dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing platform -- combined with
multi-level modulation, polarization multiplexing and coherent
detection -- allowed the signal to be carried over ultra-long distances
at high-data rates with significantly better chromatic dispersion and
polarization-mode-dispersion tolerances than conventional systems.
The field trial also demonstrated that 100 Gbps traffic can be
simultaneously transported with any mix of 10 Gbps and 40 Gbps on a
typical 80-channel ULH DWDM system. As a result, current network
configurations can support capacity upgrades to 100 Gbps per channel on
existing routes over similar distances without modification to the
physical network, providing quicker, cost-effective implementation.
Like Verizon's previous 100 Gbps trial in late 2007, this field
trial also carried the 100 Gbps signal on a single wavelength,
demonstrating true 100 Gbps throughput in a serial configuration. In
this field trial, the modulation technology enabled an even higher
total system capacity of 8 terabits per second. A terabit is one trillion bits.
The technical details of this field trial were presented Thursday
(Sept. 25) in Brussels at the prestigious European Conference on
Optical Communications (ECOC) by Verizon's Glenn Wellbrock, director of
backbone network design, as an invited paper from Verizon
Communications, Nokia Siemens Networks, Siemens PSE DE GmbH & Co.
KG, Technical University of Eindhoven, and the University of the
Federal Armed Forces.