U.S. operator, Verizon has completed a successful test in its live fibre network to move 800Gb/s of data on a single wavelength across extreme distances.
This trial is designed to lay the groundwork for managing the gigabit speeds, low single-digit millisecond latency, and scalability expected as a result of the operator’s 5G Ultra Wide Band (UWB) network.
It was conducted over Verizon’s live production network with a combination of industry standard fibres. Infinera’s fifth-generation coherent optical technology, ICE6 was selected, equipped in a GX Series platform.
Amongst the trial’s achievements, a 800Gb/s single-wavelength transmission was accomplished over 667km between Nashville and Atlanta; 600Gb/s single-wavelength transmission over 2,283km from Atlanta to Memphis with a loop back in Memphis and 400 Gb/s single-wavelength transmission over 4,091km from Atlanta to Dallas with a loop back in Dallas.
Verizon has added virtualisation throughout its network, and also built open RAN platforms and a containerised core; designed dynamic spectrum sharing and infused the network with intelligence to allow AI ML algorithms to drive efficiency and performance. These efforts are designed to allow the kind of programmability and agility needed to manage dynamic traffic flows and resources for various 5G applications and solutions. The success of these and other efforts are all reliant on the operator’s ability to move significant amounts of data through the fibre backhaul network.
Kevin Smith, vice president of technology planning and development for Verizon explained: ‘With the evolution into more robust 5G applications and solutions, the ability to move massive amounts of data across long distances becomes even more crucial. Continuing to advance the capabilities of our extensive fibre network alongside advancements in 5G technology, the radio access network, and the network core will result in an unparalleled network experience for our consumer and enterprise customers. The success of this trial is one more step in the journey to fully realizing the power and potential of our 5G UWB network. As the traffic volume from advanced 5G solutions grows exponentially, our fibre network will be ready to handle it.’
Parthiban Kandappan, chief technology officer at Infinera added: ‘With Infinera’s ICE6 technology, Verizon successfully transmitted high-speed optical signals across substantial distances over all network fibre types. This industry-leading optical innovation coupled with flexible configurations provides a single transmission solution that enables both 800Gb/s over large portions of the network and cross-continental transmission at 400 Gb/s.’
Network operator, Windstream also recently completed a live network trial in the U.S. that achieved 800Gb/s single-wavelength transmission over long-haul using the ICE6 technology.