Orange Polska says it has partnered with InPhoTec and Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) on a demonstration of multicore fiber. The collaborators achieved a total of 11.2 Tbps using a seven-core fiber from InPhoTech, with each core carrying 1.6 Tbps consisting of a pair of 800G wavelengths generated via Infinera’s ICE6 coherent engine technology.
In addition to testing capacity, the collaborators say the demonstration aimed to discover whether the multicore fiber could be used with the transmission technology designed for single-core fiber as well as whether the results would meet Orange Polska’s requirements. The tests achieved both goals, the companies say.
“At Orange Polska, we know how important technological innovations are, and we are constantly testing new, advanced telecommunication solutions. We also know that the demand for high-speed transfer is growing rapidly, and the pandemic-driven spread of remote online work, learning and commerce has further accelerated this growth,” explained Piotr Jaworski, management board member in charge of network and technology at Orange Polsak. “In the near term, the next challenge in this area will be the deployment of the 5G technology. That’s why we’re constantly investing in the development of our infrastructure, while keeping a watchful eye on the R&D activities of industry manufacturers that could help us deliver reliable services to our customers in the future.”
InPhoTech is a Polish corporate group founded in 2010 by scientist and entrepreneur Tomasz Nasiłowski, dedicated to the development and commercialization of Polish fiber-optic technologies. The group includes IPT Fiber, which plans to produce the multicore fiber in Lubartów. InPhoTech developed the fiber in collaboration with the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and with the support of the Photonics and Fibre Optics Cluster.
“Thanks to our tests, we already know that the transmission capability in seven-core C-band fiber is as high as 296 Tbps,” stated Krzysztof Witoń, CEO of IPT Fiber, citing the sum of multiplying 800 Gbps by 53 channels across 7 cores. “These are record numbers, but not the end of our capabilities. Using the entire transmission spectrum, i.e., all available bands, our fiber will be able to achieve throughputs at the level of petabits per second or thousands of terabits. I am glad that our Polish optical fiber is becoming a real answer to the global telecommunication barriers.”
For related articles, visit the Optical Technologies Topic Center.
For more information on fiber and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.