Xtera tests XWDM optical transmission technology on Verizon network

Optical transport systems vendor Xtera Communications, Inc. has unveiled XWDM, a coherent transmission approach that leverages 30-Gbaud opto-electronics and Raman amplification to provide ultra-long reach of wavelengths at 100 Gbps and above. The company says it has demonstrated XWDM’s capabilities at both 100 Gbps and 400 Gbps on Verizon’s Dallas-area network.

Xtera has long touted the use of Raman amplification as superior to the use of EDFAs, particularly at 100 Gbps (see “Xtera adds 100-Gbps to Nu-Wave Optima platform”). Applied to its Nu-Wave Optima optical transmission platform, XWDM offers a “capacity x reach” metric that surpasses EDFA-based coherent transport by a factor of six, the company asserts. This is because the XWDM approach offers spectral efficiency exceeding 4 bits/s/Hz, wide optical spectrum, and superior amplification, Xtera explains.

The Verizon field trial is the first announced field application of Xtera’s approach to 400-Gbps transmission. The trial saw the Nu-Wave platforms transmit a pair of 200-Gbps polarization-multiplexed 16-QAM carriers. Xtera says XWDM can enable such carriers to be transported 2000 km. It also can be applied to more than two carriers to create superchannels for data rates greater than 400 Gbps.

The trial also showed XWDM applied to 100-Gbps coherent transmission. Xtera says XWDM enables such wavelengths to travel 4500 km.

“Xtera’s XWDM is efficient on any vintage and type of fiber, including spans with a mix of fibers, and for aerial, buried, and submarine infrastructures, bringing a real world solution to today’s constrained networks,” said Herve Fevrier, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Xtera, via a press release. “Xtera was an early advocate of Raman technology and today the industry considers Raman optical amplification to be a critical enabler for efficient 100G technology – and beyond.”

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