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Adtran claims record for single-carrier 800G long-haul transport

March 6, 2023

Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar

New York, United States – Adtran, Inc., a provider of next-generation open and disaggregated networking solutions, announced that it has completed a field trial of 800Gbit/s single-carrier transport, achieving error-free transmission over a record distance of 2,220km in NYSERNet’s production network. The test route passed through 14 route-and-select flexgrid ROADMs comprising a total of 28 wavelength-selective switches.

Leveraging 140GBd digital signal processing (DSP) technology from Acacia, a provider for silicon-based high-speed optical interconnect products, this result was made possible by Adtran’s use of continuous symbol rate tuning and probabilistic constellation shaping offered by Acacia’s Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8). The trial showcases an opportunity for network operators to increase capacity and efficiency while minimising complexity and cost.

“We’ve taken single-carrier 800Gbit/s data transmission further than ever before. And we’ve achieved it not in a lab but in a real-world network also carrying live traffic. What’s more, we succeeded without any optimisation to the line system, maintaining the same amplifier settings used before the field trial. We’ve demonstrated that the highest capacity and reach can now be accomplished even over deployed fibre comprising a mix of standard G.652 and G.655 and including multiple network nodes and flexgrid ROADMs,” says Sorin Tibuleac, director of system architecture at Optical Networks, Adtran. “Building on the success of our TeraFlex CoreChannel technology, these results represent the next milestone in the development of high-speed optical networks. The potential to enhance throughput while minimising opex and operational complexity is immense.”

Adtran’s trial marks the longest distance ever achieved for 800Gbit/s data transport using a single optical carrier with real-time DSP. To realise this, it utilised Acacia’s CIM 8 transceiver technology, which increases baud rates up to 140Gbd to generate 800Gbit/s signals. By achieving long-distance transmission with single-carrier optics, the demo helps operators reduce footprint and energy consumption. The trial used Adtran’s FSP 3000 open line system (OLS), which provided the necessary flexibility to configure the wider required bandwidth and perform testing. Featuring a modular architecture, multiple amplification and multiplexing options, and different chassis sizes, this truly open OLS enables operators to deploy customised and future-proof solutions.

“We’re pleased to play a key role in this trial and proud of our record-breaking network. Alongside our partners, we’re showing that the highest speeds are now possible over extremely long distances, even in intricate and heterogeneous network environments. This demo reveals a way to address complexity and cost while eliminating the need for expensive and unnecessary infrastructure expansion,” comments Bill Owens, chief network architect at NYSERNet. “The success of this trial offers a major boost to the research and education institutions we support. By working with global leaders like Adtran and Acacia, we’re ensuring that our network can benefit from the latest innovation and keep our academic community at the forefront of scientific research.”

“Our field trial sets a new standard for long-haul, single-carrier data transmission over an existing network with live customer traffic. It shows the full potential of our technology to increase capacity and efficiency while reducing power consumption and expense,” notes Christian Rasmussen, VP of DSP and optics engineering at Acacia. “Our CIM 8 coherent optical module was instrumental in enabling this achievement. Featuring our 8th generation DSP and advanced silicon photonics, the CIM 8 module offers baud rate adjustment up to 140GBd and continuous modulation, which optimises the use of available spectrum. This gives service providers complete transmission flexibility to match their network’s architecture, improve fiber utilisation and simplify deployments.”

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