Using existing optical infrastructure, the trial was conducted with Alcatel’s 400G technology; carrying data at speeds of up to 17.6Tbps.
“With this trial we have demonstrated that it is possible to cost-effectively increase network capacity and enhance the quality of broadband without disrupting traffic or extensively reengineering infrastructure,” said Nikos Plevris, head of transmission and transport at Vodafone European Network.
The speed reached is equivalent to transmitting the contents of 88 Blu-ray discs in a single second, while also reducing power and space consumption by half.
Alcatel’s optical solution is based on its Photonic Service Switch platform which has the ability to be deployed simultaneously with existing multiple 10Gbps, 40Gbps and 100Gbps network links.
“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,” said Willem Hendrickx, president of EMEA at Alcatel-Lucent.
“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.”
In January, Alcatel-Lucent completed a 300G and 400G field trial on the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable system.
