Telekom Austria completes 400G field trial with Alcatel-Lucent

Telekom Austria Group reports it has successfully tested 400G technology from Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) on previously fielded fiber-optic cables between Zagreb in Croatia and Ljubljana in Slovenia. The service provider conducted the field trial between February 24 and March 6, 2014.

"The continuing increase in data volumes in the years to come will require the timely planning of new technologies over long-distance networks," said Günther Ottendorfer, chief technology officer Telekom Austria Group, explaining the rationale behind this trial.

High-speed optical transmission demands increasingly powerful networks between the most important hubs, not only within Austria, but also at an international level, the operator says. Against this backdrop, Telekom Austria Group's high-performance backbone fiber-optic networks play a crucial role, particularly for services such as business applications, including bank transactions, CRM, and SAP systems.

“This is why the group seeks to test technologies in corresponding field trials as early as possible to be sure it can make important timely decisions for future network planning. In this way, investments in high-speed technologies and high-performance networks for the coming decades can be best prepared,” the company said in a statement.

Alcatel-Lucent says the company’s 400G technology, which is based on the 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) and the Photonic Service Engine (PSE), delivers increased capacity to support growing and dynamic packet-based services in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

Luis Martinez Amago, president Europe, Middle East and Africa, for Alcatel-Lucent said, "This is the latest in a growing number of trials that show how our 400G Photonic Service Engine can boost the performance of today's optical transport networks. Following the announcement last year of our work with Telekom Austria to deliver 100G technology, this trial further highlights both our leadership in optical networking as well as our understanding of Telekom Austria's need for innovation. Alcatel-Lucent's 400G solution will help the company ensure the reliable transport of high-demand residential and mission-critical business services."

Telekom Austria Group launched its 100G network in Europe in the spring of 2013 (see “Telekom Austria brings 100-Gbps fiber-optic network to Central and Eastern Europe”). The main routes between Frankfurt and Sophia are currently well populated, according to the service provider; the data volume of these 100G transmission lines was acquired by three large customers just three months after the operational launch.

The carrier's subsidiary A1 tested 400-Gbps transmission via space-division multiplexing as part of the MODE-GAP project last year (see "Telekom Austria's A1, Coriant run 400 Gbps via space-division multiplexing").

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.