This white paper looks at a new approach to building the metro optical layer based on miniaturizing optical layer functions (e.g. amplification, monitoring, wavelength selective switching, and optical supervisory channel) into compact pluggables. In addition to exploring pluggable optical layer use cases, this white paper examines the benefits of pluggables and provides comparisons with traditional approaches, including individual modules and system-on-a-blade architectures as well as fixed WDM and ROADM.
White Papers
11 March 2016
Aerial fiber plays an important role in the global fiber infrastructure. While cheaper to deploy compared to buried fiber, an obvious challenge for aerial fiber is the exposure to harsh environmental conditions, including thunderstorms. While legacy direct detect transmission technology such as 10Gbps is inherently immune to perturbations caused by severe weather, coherent technology with bit rates exceeding 100Gbps presents new challenges. This white paper discusses the physics of fiber perturbations due to lightning strikes, the resulting challenges for coherent transponders, and how new technology solutions deliver superior resilience to adverse conditions.
19 February 2016
Sometimes ProLabs hears that a network equipment manufacturer’s sales representative has threatened a customer (which could be an end user, reseller or system integrator, etc.) that if they install third-party transceivers in the system, this will void the system manufacturer’s warranty. In this way, the sales representative tries to coerce customers into purchasing transceiver modules from the same system manufacturer, usually at much higher prices than ProLabs charges. Someone may use this type of warranty threat to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt in the minds of consumers, rather than to compete on the basis of quality and price.
23 October 2015
Adoption of Centralized-Radio Networks (C-RAN or Cloud-RAN) has been on the rise as operators are busy increasing bandwidth of mobile communications networks to keep up with ever-increasing demand brought about by the explosive growth in mobile data traffic.
27 August 2015
This guide provides a comprehensive data for understanding many facets of OTN. It includes the detailed OTN technology overview, an overview of the recent improvements in transmission technologies and essential requirements for modern networks.
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Events
Latest issue
The recent Covid-19 pandemic has changed many areas of our daily life, from going to a place of work, how we spend our holidays, to eating out and socialising with friends and family. For fibre engineers, it has arguably had a much greater impact.
In 2020, video calls have become ubiquitous thanks to Covid-19, revealing many people’s ‘lousy home broadband’, according to Geoff Bennett, director, solutions and technology, at Infinera.
It’s reasonable to say that the biggest disruptive influence this year has been the global pandemic that still currently has a grip on our lives.
PIA has proven its value in a project to build a carrier-independent dark fibre route between Bristol and South Wales in the UK. Mark Weller explains
Koji Okamoto underlines the importance of rebooting test processes for the ‘new normal’
Geoff Bennett evaluates how 50 years of innovation in optical communications has more recently helped to bring light from the shadow of Covid-19
Guillaume Baral outlines some of the significant benefits of adopting a more agile, modular approach to product development for fibre networks
There is a massive commercial opportunity that fibre network providers are leaving in the ground, says Stuart Large
Mattias Fridström looks at the role of software and collaboration in maximising optical networks in the future
