With recent enhancements in high-speed optics and advanced modulation techniques, however, fibre optic systems used on terrestrial networks have caught up with, and in many cases surpassed, the capabilities of submarine-specific versions, as Dr Chad Lamb, chief systems architect at optical transport equipment developer, XKL, explained: 'Standard terrestrial
wave-division multiplexing (WDM) systems now have the capability to operate directly over submarine networks, resulting in significant cost savings.
The submarine cable system is based on 200G dense
wave-division multiplexing technology and have a design capacity of 60Tbit/s.
A protocol and technology standardized by ITU-T for optical access at more than 40 Gbps, using
wave-division multiplexing (WDM) technology to multiplex a 10-Gbps signal into four or more wavelengths.
As a result of the growing penetration of IoT, optical MEMS are required in datacenters to transfer and receive the information over dense
wave-division multiplexing (DWDM) network.
Alcatel is introducing that technology, called IP over dense
wave-division multiplexing, on its service routers now.
Wave-division multiplexing (WDM) technology allows independent and simultaneous data streams to be transmitted over a single fiber-optic connection using different wavelengths, or colors of light.
The new platform combines Marconi's next-generation SDH technology with integrated data and
wave-division multiplexing technology which, according to the company, will provide data aggregation and switching as well as high-capacity solutions.
With conventional equipment, however, optical signals need to be converted to electrical signals for processing, limiting the ultimate performance that could be achieved through
wave-division multiplexing or other optical multiplexing techniques.
"Orion 21 would have improved propulsion, an advanced flight station, improved electrical and electronics systems employing fiber optics and
wave-division multiplexing, and superior environmental controls," explained Rob Weiss, MMA program director for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
For this reason,
wave-division multiplexing technology has been adapted to silicon photonics as well.
Seven of our large locations connect to the fiber network in a ring, and on that one leased pair we run both coarse and dense
wave-division multiplexing. We have a larger, tier 2 WAN, which is T-1 based and consolidates into multiple DS-3s that are channelized.
To address recovery time, distance and cost requirements, as well as network service availability, optical switches should support multiple technologies, including dense
wave-division multiplexing and synchronous optical network/synchronous digital hierarchy services, and storage protocols such as FICON, ESCON, Fibre Channel, and Fibre Channel over IP.
