Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) and Windstream say they have collaborated on a demonstration that saw a single-wavelength 800G transmission traverse over 730 km across Windstream’s long-haul network between San Diego and Phoenix. The two companies then ran a loopback scenario, albeit at a reduced transmission rate of 700G, that covered over 1,460 km.
Much like an earlier live network 800G demonstration over 950 km (see “Infinera sends 800G over 950 km in live network, touts increased appeal of 800G”), this exercise leveraged Infinera’s Groove (GX) Series platform equipped with the company’s latest ICE6 coherent engine. The production network is built on G.652 SMF-28 fiber. It has variable span lengths with span losses as high as 28 dB, according to an Infinera blog that describes the demonstration. The OSNR margin to the forward error correction (FEC) limit was sufficiently high enough to meet Windstream’s standards for support of revenue-generating services noted the blog author, Robert Maher, director optical system architecture at Infinera. Maher stressed that the collaborators used “no magic or line system manipulation, and nothing that would worry Claude Shannon (although I hope he would be impressed!).”
Windstream thus could deliver services via 800G and 700G wavelengths, the exercise demonstrated. “Windstream remains committed to staying at the forefront of technological innovation, and the superior performance of ICE6 brings real-world value to our network and enables us to meet the explosive growth in bandwidth demands of our customers,” said Buddy Bayer, chief network officer at Windstream. “The flexibility of ICE6 coupled with the easily deployable compact modular form factor of the GX Series will enable Windstream to quickly and easily introduce this new technology across our entire network from edge to core.”
Infinera unveiled the ICE6 in February 2019 and has touted its ability to push 800G over greater distances than its competitors' alternative approaches (see “Infinera unveils ICE6 coherent engine, Infinite Network vision”). “Infinera is delighted to set this new industry benchmark and partner with Windstream, a network operator that continually pushes the boundaries of optical networking,” said Parthiban Kandappan, chief technology officer at Infinera. “As proven by the superior performance of this network trial, we believe our unique expertise with Nyquist subcarriers coupled with the groundbreaking innovations introduced by ICE6 will represent the standard for high-speed optical engines going forward.”
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