Huawei Technologies and Polish operator Exatel have tested a next-generation optical network based on WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology and capable of 400Gbps throughput.
More data traffic and the need for greater transmission speed in both fixed and wireless networks have consequences for all parts of operator networks. While faster versions of technologies such as LTE are being rolled out at the edge of networks, vendors are working on improving WDM (Wavelength-Division Multiplexing) to help them keep up at the core.
WDM sends large amounts of data using a number different wavelengths or channels over a single optical fiber.
However, the test conducted by Huawei and Exatel only used one channel to send the data, which has its advantages, according to Huawei. It means the system only needs one optical transceiver, which is used to both send and receive data. That, in turn, results in lower power consumption and a smaller chance that something may go wrong, it said.
Huawei didn't say when it expects to include the technology in commercial products.
Currently operators are upgrading their networks to include 100Gbps links. That increased third quarter spending on optical networks in North America by 13.4 percent year-over-year, following an 11.1 percent increase in the previous quarter, according to Infonetics Research. Huawei, Ciena, and Alcatel-Lucent were the WDM market share leaders, it said.
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