Apollo, Alcatel-Lucent transmit 3 Tbps via submarine network

May 11, 2010

MAY 11, 2010 – UK-based Apollo, a transatlantic fiber-optic cable system operator, and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) say they have successfully demonstrated the transmission of approximately 3 Tbps of data, based on 40-Gbps channels, per fiber pair in a submarine network.

Using Alcatel-Lucent technology, the test was performed over Apollo’s north cable system linking the US and the UK, a distance of 6,221 km, and almost quadrupled the original design capacity of the system. The demonstration comprised 72 channels at 40 Gbps, all error-free. The test demonstrated for the first time on a live system a capacity increase of a factor of two compared to the maximum capacity achievable based on 10-Gbps channels, the companies assert.

“Capacity upgrades of submarine networks using existing fiber are critical for operators as existing networks near full capacity and as terrestrial networks start supporting 40 Gbps. These two factors drive the need to increase the capacity of submarine networks, seamlessly handing-off traffic to keep the highest level of efficiency end-to-end,” said Richard Elliott, managing director of Apollo.

For the trial, the Alcatel-Lucent 1620 Light Manager submarine line terminal used a phase shift keying (PSK)-based modulation format with coherent detection.