NTT Communications adds 100G to PC-1 submarine fiber cable

NTT Communications Corp. (NTT Com) says it has boosted the capacity of the PC-1 transpacific submarine fiber-optic network by 2.5X through the addition of coherent transmission technology. The jump to 100 Gbps per wavelength extends the fiber cable network’s total capacity to 8.4 Tbps, NTT Com says.

PC-1 extends 21,000 km in a ring configuration between the Japan and the U.S. It features landing stations in Ajigaura (Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo) and Shima (Mie Prefecture, near Osaka and Nagoya) in Japan and Harbour Pointe, WA, and Grover Beach, CA, in the U.S.

The coherent 100G deployment came after NTT Comm tested the technology in October 2011 using technology from Infinera (see “Infinera trials 100 Gbps undersea with Pacific Crossing”), then announced its intention to move to 100G the following month (see “NTT Com plans 100G for PC-1 transpacific submarine cable network”). However, tweaks to the networks architecture, including strategically placed optical repeaters and an enhanced fiber layout, were necessary before the NTT Comm could move forward. With those alterations in place, the NTT Com cleared the way for the capacity upgrade.

NTT Comm says it plans to roll out a similar 100G upgrade on the Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE) undersea cable system by the end of next year.

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