Alcatel-Lucent and Vodafone Spain have successfully carried out a trial of transporting data at speeds of up to 400G (gigabits-per second) over a distance of 400 kilometers between Madrid and Zaragoza using existing optical infrastructure, demonstrating significant increase in ultra-broadband access transmission capacity. The test was conducted on Vodafone Spain’s existing Dispersion Compensation Module network between Madrid and Zaragoza and is based on Alcatel-Lucent's 1830 Photonic Service Switch platform.
According to Alcatel-Lucent, the trial was conducted with Alcatel-Lucent’s 400G technology and demonstrates the ability of an existing optical network to carry data at up to 17.6 terabits-per-second (Tbps), doubling the current spectral efficiency in fiber. Alcatel-Lucent said that the trial demonstrated that 400 Gbps transmission can be added on an existing network without disruption of the traffic or reengineering of the optical link.
Alcatel-Lucent added that the 400 Gbps optical technology that was developed by its research arm, Bell Labs, allows transmission that is equivalent of transmitting the contents of 88 Blu-ray discs in a single second while reducing power and space consumption by half.
Mauro Costa, Vodafone Director Core & Transport CoE
This trial demonstrates that it is possible to transmit data at 400 Gbps over a considerable distance simultaneously with other transmission speeds using our existing infrastructure.
Willem Hendrickx, President Europe, Middle East & Africa, Alcatel-Lucent
This trial application of Alcatel-Lucent’s innovation in optical transmission demonstrated our ability to provide Vodafone with the technology they need to meet their rapidly evolving requirements. Specifically, this trial has demonstrated the feasibility of state-of-the-art transmission over one of Vodafone’s existing European backbone networks. We look forward to taking this innovation to the next step with them.
