ZTE transmits 400 Gbps more than 5000 km

ZTE Corp. (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ) says it has transmitted 400 Gbps over more than 5000 km.

The transmission, which involved what ZTE called “a unique frequency algorithm,” used a WDM system based on 100-GHz channel spacing. The link included 25 ROADM nodes, but no electrical repeaters.

The company did not reveal where the trial took place, whether a carrier was involved, and whether the optical transport system used was a prototype or commercially available.

The trial is the most recent in a series of 400-Gbps experiments ZTE has conducted. The company reported at ECOC 2012 that it had sent 40 channels, each running at 400-Gbps, over 2800 km of standard singlemode fiber (see “ZTE claims record for single-carrier 400G transmission”). The company also unveiled a 400-Gbps/1-Tbps prototype optical transport system the previous June (see “ZTE displays 400-Gbps and 1-Tbps DWDM prototype”).

ZTE said the 5000 km set "a benchmark for the global optical networking industry." However, AT&T delivered a paper at this year's OFC/NFOEC in which it reported transmitting 400 Gbps over 12,000 km using a time-domain-hybrid modulation format that comprised a mix of 48 QPSK and 77 8QAM symbols on a 100-GHz grid.

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