14 January 2004 Shrewsbury, NJ, and Marlborough, MA Lightwave -- Internet Photonics has announced its new 40 Wavelength modular LightHandler optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM), which the company claims is the most flexible metro-regional wavelength transport platform available. The LightHandler can transmit up to 40 DWDM signals over a single fiber strand.
Developed using direct input from customers, the 40 wavelength LightHandler is available now and has been deployed by one major cable operator. It is also in trial by others to meet video-on-demand (VOD) scalability as well as other service requirements in major metropolitan cable head-ends.
The 40 wavelength LightHandler metro-regional OADM eliminates a significant scalability problem for both service providers and cable operators who must choose between a transport solution they can afford today and one that will cost-effectively grow to handle their capacity needs of tomorrow. Low-cost, entry-level configurations are designed to grow gracefully without service interruption to 40-channel systems if and when required by customers.
"With the 40 wavelength LightHandler, Internet Photonics is strengthening its position as a leader in metro optical transport," contends Gary Southwell, vice president of marketing, Internet Photonics. "This system fits perfectly into our vision of low-cost, scalable optics that help our customers deliver new services in a cost effective manner while protecting their ability to grow network capacity in the future."
The flexibility inherent in the 40 wavelength LightHandler can be put to work in several revenue-enhancing ways, say company representatives. Operators can start with a single four-channel module and add modules in minutes, boosting transmission capacity up to 400 Gbits/sec over a single fiber. The large number of wavelengths available means that cable operators and service providers can transport voice, data, and video services on separate wavelengths of the same platform rather than purchase separate equipment for each service. More importantly, the wavelength capacity enables operators to protect high margin services, such as VOD and business services, which require dedicated quality of service and reliability. Ring upgrades can be preformed without upgrading every site to the full complement of wavelengths-which is not possible with more complicated first- generation regional OADM systems, says the company. This allows a single hub site and the head-end to add capacity without any changes at other hubs on the ring.
The 40 wavelength LightHandler metro-regional OADM is a complete transport solution including filters, amplifiers, and slope-matched dispersion compensating units. It is fully compliant with the ITU standards and backward compatible with previous LightHandler products. Ultra low-loss thin-film filter technology provides maximum transmission capabilities. The passive filters eliminate the need for heaters found in older generation DWDM filter technology. Optical bypass of add-drop nodes provides a reduction in insertion loss for channels that are simply transiting through a hub.