The newly combined company Ribbon-ECI on Thursday announced the launch of 400 Gigabit Ethernet (400GbE) muxponders (multiplexing transponders) for transport to the new generation of 400GbE router interfaces over the wide area network (WAN).
Ribbon and ECI announced the close of their merger on March 3, 2020.
Trends in mobility, the growing adoption of cloud-based platforms and applications and the escalating consumption of video are continuously driving demand for expanded capacity and bandwidth. The forthcoming widespread availability of 5G will only accelerate this pressure, and while today’s router speeds are consistently increasing to keep pace, interfaces to the optical network have remained limited. By offering 400GbE speeds on its TM800E/TM1200E blades, Ribbon-ECI is ushering in the next generation of interface speeds.
Designed for Ribbon-ECI’s Apollo optical networking system, the new blades can instantly boost client interface speeds to 400GbE. Modulation rates on these blades are programmable, enabling customers to easily maximize transport distance and spectral efficiency on both flexible grid and 50GHz or 100GHz fixed grid networks. TM800E/TM1200E blades are capable of supporting long haul transport deployments of up to 3,000 kilometers and complement Ribbon-ECI’s TM1200, which provides line side flexibility up to 600G.
Rafi Leiman, Head of the Optical Line of Business, Ribbon-ECI
All market indicators suggest that 400GbE routers will experience much faster uptake than previous generations. In fact, we already have orders for these new blades and are planning deployments this spring.
