Nortel Has 6.4-Tb/s Optical Platform

Nortel Networks Corp. of Paignton, UK, presented a scalable 40- to 80-Gb/s optical Internet platform during Telecom '99 in Geneva.

The system, which is designed to connect 2500 backbone routers on a fiber pair, supports up to 80 wavelengths through dense wavelength division multiplexing, for a total single-fiber capacity of 6.4 Tb/s.

The optical Internet system, which the company plans to release commercially in 2001, was exhibited on a fiber 480 km long, the distance between the convention center and Paris.

President and CEO John Roth said the system represents the company's vision for the infrastructure of the next-generation Internet.