Alcatel Claims World Recordfor DWDM Backbone Networks

PARIS, Sept. 12 -- Alcatel has recorded an unidirectional transmission of 128 channels each modulated at 40 Gb/s, reaching a total throughput of 5.12 Tb/s (5120 Gb/s) over 300 km -- a new world record for dense wavelength division multiplexing transmission capacity, said Alcatel. The transmission was made with the company's 40 Gb/s DWDM systems, TeraLight optical fibers and with the use of a new technique that makes the most of existing bandwidth.
This new technique is a method devised by Alcatel that uses the full capacity of the bandwidth of optical amplifiers. When carried over an optical fiber, wavelengths create interference -- requiring that limited spacing be used between each wavelength in the network, which ultimately hinders the amount of wavelengths that can be carried over the same fiber. The higher the bit rate, the stronger the interference and the higher the number of wavelengths restricted. The technique developed by Alcatel minimizes the effect of the interference.