NBN Co trials Infinera’s XR optics

May 13, 2021
The proof-of-concept exercise leveraged the nbn Transit Network, the operator’s more than 65,000-km fiber backbone network.

Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) says that NBN Co, which is responsible for Australia’s nationwide wholesale open-access broadband network, is the latest network operator to trail its coherent point-to-multipoint XR optics. The proof-of-concept exercise leveraged the nbn Transit Network, the operator’s more than 65,000-km fiber backbone network.

The network technology provider asserts the trial demonstrated the ability of XR optics to simplify transport network architecture and reduce capex and opex while supporting multiple applications. The demonstration was part of NBN Co’s ongoing assessment of technologies it might use to enable its transport network to support future demands.

“The nbn Transit Network is our national backbone, supporting the growing data needs of Australians as they rely more on broadband for their work, education, social, and entertainment needs. It is important that we keep track of new innovations to guide how we evolve our network to help meet changing needs in the future,” explained Ray Owen, CTO at NBN Co. “Working with Infinera helps us to understand the options and design our pathways accordingly.”

“This trial with NBN Co provides a proof point illustrating how Infinera’s digital subcarrier-powered XR optics can be seamlessly integrated into existing networks and successfully applied in a variety of network applications from backhaul networks to data center interconnect,” said Dave Welch, Infinera chief innovation officer and co-founder. “The XR optics trials Infinera has conducted continue to represent a radical shift in the way future networks can be built, promising a dramatic reduction in TCO, helping to set a new benchmark in scalability, and increasing service flexibility and velocity.”

Infinera previously had announced XR optics trials with BT, Virgin Media, and American Tower (see “BT models, lab trials Infinera’s XR optics” and “Virgin Media tests Infinera’s XR optics on PON infrastructure”).

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