MCI, Xtera, Mintera, Juniper bind to advance 40G technology

Dec. 12, 2005

December 12, 2005 Ashburn, VA -- MCI announced that it has teamed with Xtera Communications, Mintera, and Juniper Networks in successful transmission of 40 Gbit/sec bandwidth over 3,040 km of field fiber in MCI's Dallas metro area network. The companies say this milestone demonstrates the availability of next-generation technology for supporting high-bandwidth IP traffic demands over ultra long haul (ULH) distances on existing fiber infrastructure.

December 12, 2005 Ashburn, VA -- MCI announced that it has teamed with Xtera Communications, Mintera , and Juniper Networks in successful transmission of 40 Gbit/sec bandwidth over 3,040 km of field fiber in MCI's Dallas metro area network. The companies say this milestone demonstrates the availability of next-generation technology for supporting high-bandwidth IP traffic demands over ultra long haul (ULH) distances on existing fiber infrastructure.

"As we execute on our IP convergence strategy, and as customer applications drive bandwidth onto our network, 40-Gbit/sec transmission becomes an increasingly important technology to enable efficient scaling of our network," comments Jack Wimmer, MCI vice president of network architecture and advanced technology.

According to a press release, the technology field trial, which was conducted in October and November, carried 74 channels of 10-Gbit/sec traffic and 2 channels of 40-Gbit/sec traffic over 38 individual 80-km spans of standard singlemode fiber around the Dallas metro area, using the Xtera all-Raman DWDM system, Mintera's advanced modulation format, long reach OC768 transponders, and Juniper Networks' T640 IP routers with OC768 short reach interfaces.

Using patented all-Raman technologies, Xtera's Nu-Wave Multi-Reach DWDM platform supports 40G transmission with extensive optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM) flexibility to deliver video, data, and advanced voice services. The company says its all-Raman amplifier allows the optical signal to be carried a greater distance with three times the capacity of most traditional Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFA). As a result, says the company, an all-Raman approach can translate into lower network costs, increased reliability, reduced infrastructure builds, simplified channel engineering, and streamlined capacity planning.

Mintera says its MI 40000 optical transport equipment enables carriers to deploy 40G wavelengths without traffic interruption on infrastructures designed for, and simultaneously, carrying lower bit-rate signals. According to the company, a variety of modulation formats, including DPSK, are employed to permit this boost in bandwidth efficiency to be implemented without adding regeneration sites.

Juniper Networks says its OC768c router interface enables carriers to increase the efficiency and capacity of IP networks to better support bandwidth-intensive applications and services. The company says its T-series routing platform offers a combination of advanced routing features and IP/MPLS capabilities to support high-capacity core applications.

According to the release, MCI originally demonstrated high-capacity Internet technology in May of 2004 when the company successfully transmitted 40-Gbit/sec IP traffic using its optical network fiber between San Francisco and San Jose, California. That demonstrations was followed weeks later with MCI extending the reach of 40G wavelengths to 1,200 km, using the company's ULH backbone network between Sacramento, California and Salt Lake City, Utah.

"Our accomplishments with 40-Gbit/sec technology, combined with our Ultra Long Haul and Converged Packet Access strategies, set the stage for MCI to easily deliver high performance bandwidth applications such as Web services, storage area networks, and multimedia distribution to our customers," concludes Wimmer.