WDM technology

Under an agreement reached with Savage, MD-based Ciena Corp., Sprint has deployed the Ciena MultiWave 1600 system in its network. In a new development in dense wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) technology, the 40-channel, 100-Gbit/sec-capacity terminal is capable of transmitting 16 discrete optical channels over one fiber. Each channel is bit-rate transparent from 150 Mbits/sec to 2.4 Gbits/sec and operates with existing Synchronous Optical Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy asynchronous fiber-optic terminals. Incorporating optical-line amplifier repeaters to extend the transmission range, the system has been deployed along a 200-mile route in the Midwest and is being installed in other key routes throughout Sprint`s network.