March 26, 2002--Marconi (www.marconi.com) and Telecom Italia announced the successful implementation of DWDM transmission over dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF), quadrupling the number of wavelengths an optical fiber can support.
The introduction of this technology started three months ago on Telecom Italia's backbone link between Florence and Rome. By using the technology deployed by Marconi and Telecom Italia, other network operators can implement DWDM over already installed DSF fiber infrastructure.
"Network providers can look again at their legacy fiber installed in the ground and reconsider its inherent value," said Lorenzo Costagli, vice president of development for Marconi. "Operators can now deploy advanced DWDM photonics technology over fiber that has been installed for up to 15 years -- fiber that was previously considered unsuitable for high-capacity transmission."
"As demand for broader capacity in our network evolved, we looked at deploying DWDM technology," said Sandro Dionisi, head of access and transmission infrastructure at Telecom Italia. "We successfully tested the Marconi PLT40 wide band solution, which also uses L Band techniques and Raman amplification, on our network. Marconi's solution, and in particular L Band technology, allows us to make the best use of the already installed DSF fiber, allowing us to ensure that we continue to derive a return on the investment we made in the past, and also to double the transmission capacity of our NZD fiber (G.655) backbone infrastructure."
The Marconi system is currently capable of transporting 40 channels at 10 Gbits/sec on DSF.
Future planned developments are to double the capacity of this technique to 80 channels at 10 Gbits/sec.