Alcatel-Lucent has expanded its 100G optical networking portfolio by introducing a single-carrier coherent technology that will extend optical signals over far distances. This latest addition is designed to enhance the ability of communications service providers to address the demand for high-bandwidth services like video and fixed and mobile broadband. Alcatel-Lucent is to offer a premium card, the 100G eXtended Reach (XR), which employs techniques developed at Bell Labs to monitor and maintain the quality of optical signals. The 100G XR card will extend the range, performance and capacity of 100G optical networks. This premium card, which will be commercially available by year end, will be offered on the Alcatel-Lucent 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS). The Alcatel-Lucent 100G XR can transmit a combination of 10G, 40G and 100G rates on different wavelengths of an optical fibre for up to 2000 kilometres and beyond, providing up to 30 percent increase in reach. Delivering bandwidth supporting 100G rates on each wavelength on an optical fibre, the 1830 PSS can support the transfer of over 100,000 MP3 files in 60 seconds or to stream 15,000 HDTV channels concurrently. The 100G optical system on the 1830 PSS is a single-carrier coherent system, which means it uses a single carrier wavelength to transmit the data down a fibre resulting in higher bandwidth. Alcatel-Lucent's 100G single carrier coherent system features an electro-optics engine which was developed based on innovations from Bell Labs, the company's R&D arm. This electro-optics engine, which features an in-house developed silicon chipset and signal processing algorithms, is designed with fewer components. This 1830 PSS is a key element of the Alcatel-Lucent High Leverage Network (HLN) architecture, which is designed to provide massive capacity.
