Telefonica Espana, Alcatel-Lucent test multi-rate optical transmission to 400 Gbps

Telefónica España and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext and NYSE: ALU) say they have completed successful field trials of high-speed multi-rate optical transmission. The tests demonstrated the ability of Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch equipped with a new 400G adaptive-modulation transponder and flexible-grid ROADM capability to transmit at 100 Gbps, 200 Gbps, and 400 Gbps over a live fiber-optic network link.

The adaptive modulator improves network performance by assigning the optimal amount of spectrum for each data rate and distance requirement, Alcatel-Lucent says.

For Telefónica España, the trial demonstrates its current network’s ability to support increasingly higher transmission speeds as well as overall resilience to outages and failures by diverting capacity to where it is needed in the network, even when multiple failures occur. New GMPLS-based control plane intelligence will provide the foundation for this improved resiliency, the companies say.

“The future integration of 400 Gbps in our core network will enable us answering with optimum quality our clients’ ever growing demand for more bandwidth,” said Manuel Fernández Daza, director access, aggregation and transport networks technology and planning at Telefónica España. “Solutions that make the best use of our existing infrastructure, like the photonic mesh technology demonstrated in this trial, are how we will maintain our lead in the marketplace.”

The trial began with a mesh network carrying 40-Gbps channels with live traffic via the 1830 Photonic Service Switch. With the trial capabilities installed, the packet-optical transport platform transmitted 100-Gbps, 200-Gbps, and 400-Gbps wavelengths using DP-QPSK and DP-16QAM. The system provisioned the 100-Gbps and 200-Gbps channels with either 50-GHz or 37.5-GHz spacing; the 400-Gbps channels used either 100-GHz or 75-GHz spacing.

The maximum tested distance was around 650 km.

Telefónica and Alcatel-Lucent have previously paired to put new technology to the test, including 100G (see “Alcatel-Lucent integrates coherent detection on its optical platforms for 100G”).

For more information on high-speed transmission equipment and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.