ADVA and German Aerospace Center transmit 13.16 Tbps of data across 10.45 km and set free-space optics record

ADVA (FSE: ADV) said that, together with the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt DLR), it has successfully transmitted 13.16 Tbps of data across 10.45 km using free-space optics, setting what it asserts is a new data transmission record for the optical transmission medium. Mirroring a ground to geostationary satellite link, the demonstration is an milestone in providing high-speed broadband to rural and underdeveloped areas, says ADVA.

The trial involved a laser connection between a ground station in Weilheim, Germany, and a mock satellite on the mountain Hohenpeißßnberg, over 10 km away. With the figure of 13.16 Tbps approximately eight times the DLR's previous record, every printed book in the world could be transmitted within nearly half a minute, ADVA attests.

The trial isa part ofDLR's plan to enable broadband coverage based on satellite links that are cost-effective. DLR developed the free-space terminal technology that coupled a fast varying, distorted wavefront into a fiber.

"This trial is a significant milestone in the evolution of stable, high-speed communication via satellite. It's showing the industry that multi-terabits of data can be transported every second via satellites using free-space laser communications," said Christoph Günther, director, DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation. "One of our core aims is helping to achieve global connectivity and this test is a big part of realizing that goal. Through a lot of close collaboration between the DLR and ADVA teams, we've been able to demonstrate that this approach is not only feasible but that it's ready to be used to transmit the enormous amounts of data needed for tomorrow's users. Setting this benchmark brings high-speed broadband for everyone a step closer to reality."

The ADVA FSP 3000 CloudConnect platform and other ADVA technology, including its QuadFlex line cards, contributed to the trial's success. The FSP 3000 Cloud Connect transported large amounts of data and managed high atmospheric turbulence levels. ADVA equates the atmospheric turbulence in the terrestrial link to that experienced in the worst possible environment between ground and geostationary satellites. The QuadFlex line cards supported high-order coherent modulation schemes, enabling each wavelength to carry 200-Gbps payload data using dual-polarization 16-QAM and soft-decision forward error correction.

The ADVA FSP 3000 platform was recently deployed in a statewide fiber network by New York State Education and Research Network (NYSERNet) to help it provide internet access to education, research, and health care institutions in the state (see "NYSERNet chooses ADVA FSP 3000 CloudConnect for New York R&E fiber network"). NYSERT leveraged the CloudConnect shelves, which included QuadFlex line cards, for increased capacity.

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