Nokia, Etisalat conduct single-carrier terabit optical transmission field trial
Nokia and Etisalat say they have conducted the first field trial of single-carrier terabit optical transmission. The collaborators conducted the 1-Tbps transmission on a deployed fiber-network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
As part of the trial, Nokia and Etisalat transmitted a total of 50.8 Tbps via multiple wavelengths, each with a net information rate of 1.3 Tbps, over a 93-km fiber route. The optical transmissions were based on a single optical carrier operating at 100 Gbaud and Nokia Bell Labs-pioneered probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS). PCS is a foundational technology for Nokia’s Photonic Service Engine 3, which is currently shipping to customers as part of Nokia’s 1830 portfolio.
The companies say the field trial comes as Etisalat looks to upgrade its core network to support such high-bandwidth applications as 5G mobile broadband, fiber to the home (FTTH), and data center interconnect (DCI) cloud services.
“We are pleased to have partnered with Nokia Bell Labs to demonstrate that our optical network is capable of transporting a terabit per second over a single wavelength, and a total per-fiber capacity of over 50 Tbps,” said Esmaeel Alhammadi, senior vice president, network development at Etisalat. “Increasing network capacity helps us to provide bandwidth-hungry services such as 5G extreme mobile broadband, fiber-to-the-home, and DCI for enterprises.”
Nokia and Etisalat reported details of the demonstration at last week’s ECOC 2019 in Dublin, Ireland, via a post-deadline paper.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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