ECI now offers an 8x24CDCF ROADM to provide additional contentionless capabilities for the company’s Apollo 9600 optical transport platform. The ROADM is based on what ECI describes as “wavelength switching technologies” superior to the multicast switches at the heart of conventional contentionless ROADMs, in that the ECI technologies enable higher density, better performance, and lower cost, the company asserts.
The 8x24CDCF ROADM falls under ECI’s “as you like it approach” to modular, programmable network elements. It thus enables programmable wavelength routing and works in harmony with other Apollo modules, including the recent TM1200 programmable 1.2-Tbps dual-channel blade. The use of the switching-based architecture (that probably leverages wavelength selective switches such as this one) obviates the need for the amplification elements commonly required with ROADMs based on multicast switches, ECI says. Removing the amplifier elements is the catalyst for the density, performance, and cost advantages the ROADM provides, ECI points out.
"As mobile network operators (MNOs) prepare their networks for 5G, the demand they face is twofold: they must respond to the ever-increasing consumer demand for bandwidth, while also meeting the demand to remain profitable," commented Jimmy Mizrahi, head of global portfolio at ECI. "Thus, network operators are seeking technologies which allow them to cost-effectively, dynamically deliver and maximize network bandwidth in real time. The 8x24CDCF ROADM with its enhanced scalability, high-caliber performance, next-generation power efficiency, and cost-savings is a unique addition to our family of ROADMs within the Apollo optical networking system, in line with our 'as you like it approach'."
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