OCTOBER 6, 2008 -- Verizon says its latest trial of 100G optical transmission technology performed with better tolerance for signal distortion than typically found in today's standard wavelength of 10G. This is a significant next step toward the commercialization of 100G transmission, notes the carrier.
Transporting data over 73 km of field fiber in northeastern Texas at a 92-Gbit/sec rate, the recent trial demonstrated twice the tolerance for signal distortion when compared with today's standard 10G signal, claims Verizon, which used Nortel equipment in the trial.
The Nortel Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 convergence platform equipped with 40G/100G Adaptive Optical Engine technology integrates advanced signal-processing techniques that maintain sustained signal integrity despite significant polarization mode dispersion (PMD), explains Nortel. PMD, a natural impairment of optical fiber transmission, causes a signal to distort as it travels along the optical fiber. This results in imperfections when the signal arrives at the receiver end and limits the amount of data that can be transmitted.
"This latest trial further illustrates Verizon's keen interest in viable 100G technologies," notes Mark Wegleitner, Verizon's senior vice president of technology. "Each advance we make moves the Verizon network closer to commercial deployment of reliable higher bandwidth speeds on the backbone to serve our customers' needs--whether it's voice, video, or data."
"As Verizon prepares to meet increasing demand for bandwidth-intensive services like multimedia conferencing and HD video, it faces a complex challenge of increasing network capacity while maintaining existing infrastructure," adds Philippe Morin, president of Metro Ethernet Networks for Nortel. "Nortel's 40G/100G Adaptive Optical Engine allows Verizon to deploy higher capacity transmission systems over any fiber in their existing network without extensive re-engineering. This capability already is commercialized in our 40G technology," he asserts, "and will be a key differentiator for our 100G solution."
Working with some of the industry's major equipment suppliers, Verizon is pursuing commercial deployment of 100G technology. On September 25, 2008, Verizon and Nokia Siemens Networks announced that they had successfully transmitted data at 100G on a single wavelength for more than 1,040 kilometers, setting a new distance record over deployed fiber and demonstrating better performance than conventional transmission. (See "Verizon, Nokia Siemens Networks claim new record for 100G transmission.") In November 2007, Verizon and Alcatel-Lucent transmitted a commercial information package--a FiOS video stream--between Tampa, FL., and Miami at 100G for the first time over a live network (See "Verizon completes 100-Gbit/sec field trial.")
In the Nortel trial, Verizon transmitted the 100G traffic error-free using an advanced signal-processing method and signal-correcting techniques embedded in Nortel's technology. Preserving the level of quality for high-speed traffic is important for such ultra-long-haul network strategies as mesh architecture, notes Verizon. The carrier says it is a global leader in mesh architecture, which provides more alternate paths to reroute traffic in the event of a network disruption. Maintaining signal quality becomes critical when the signal has to travel through multiple nodes and for long distances.