BT and Ciena trial 800G superchannel

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) and BT say they have successfully transmitted an 800-Gbps superchannel over a 410-km link on BT’s fiber-optic network this past March.

The tests also included the transmission of 100-, 200-, and 400-Gbps signals over the route, which runs from BT’s Adastral Park Research and Development Centre in Ipswich to the BT Tower in Central London. The route features significant polarization-mode dispersion (PMD), the parties say. One demonstration saw 400G transmitted via 16-QAM alongside 40-Gbps and 100G quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK, likely dual polarized) wavelengths.

Ciena has supplied optical transport systems, including the 6500 Packet-Optical and 4200 Advanced Services platforms, since 2003. The recent demonstrations fall under a multi-year collaboration agreement signed this past January 2013 to jointly research and develop new applications and capabilities on BT’s network.

“BT has always been a pioneer in the field of networking, and we can trace our roots back to the very first national telecommunications undertaking in the world – The Electric Telegraph Company. Since then, and with the recent explosion in global connectivity, we have constantly looked for new ways to future proof our infrastructure and provide more bandwidth for the next generation of applications and services. These trials prove that we’re heading in the right direction, and we’re very proud of our role in this latest milestone in the history of communications,” commented Neil J. McRae, chief network architect at BT.

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