Colt Technology Services (Colt) completed a trial of Multi-Core Fiber (MCF) with STL across its London, UK, metro optical network, validating the emerging technology in a live network.
During the trial, STL’s Multiverse™ Multi-Core 4-core Fiber—built in the same cladding diameter as standard single-mode fiber (SMF)—was deployed.
The trial was conducted within the London Metro network between two Colt PoPs, spanning 9 km and 63 km. An 800 Gbps line rate was achieved with validation performed for 100GE and 400GigE services.
Colt and STL conducted rigorous testing, including Chromatic Dispersion (CD), Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD), crosstalk, throughput, fault analysis, OTDR, loss, and optical return loss (ORL), all of which yielded satisfactory results.
STL’s MCF packs 4 cores into the same cladding diameter as standard single-mode fiber (SMF), keeping coating size at 250/200 micrometers and achieving ultra-high transmission capacity per fiber.
“As demand for network capacity surges, customers need more bandwidth without compromising security, performance, or sustainability,” said Buddy Bayer, Chief Operating Officer, Colt Technology Services. “At Colt, we’re pushing the boundaries of optical networking, and this pilot marks a breakthrough across Europe and the USA.”
