Alcatel Lucent Takes Coherent 100G to Market

Today Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU, news, filings) is formally taking the wrappings off of its coherent 100G technology, and taking it commercial, featuring a single carrier 100G over one wavelength.  If there was any doubt that 100G has finally arrived, at least technologically, then it is probably now vanquished.  The new technology is available on Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS), and can be deployed alongside 10/40G in an existing fiber plant.

So at a maximum if 88 wavelengths, the system can currently put 8.8Tbps on a single fiber, which should go a long way toward scaling current backbones.  The key technological enablers behind Alcatel-Lucent’s offering include:

• Utilization of the best performing 100G PDM-QPSK modulation format
• An ultra fast baud-rate monolithic digital signal processor
• Unique Bell Labs innovation & DSP algorithms

And what’s a product announcement without a high profile endorsement from a customer?  Japan’s Softbank has selected the 1830 PSS to upgrade its backbone network.   Other early applications are IMHO likely to start in the exchanges at large datacenter facilities.

In terms of the economics, Alcatel Lucent of course stakes its claim to lowest total cost of ownership, with this new 100G offering being a key part of the High Leverage Network initiative they have been putting together since last Fall.  Is the title theirs?  You tell me…  Right now it is probably too early to tell, but I’d be interested to hear from anyone who gets a chance to implement this stuff.

If you haven't already, please take our Reader Survey! Just 3 questions to help us better understand who is reading Telecom Ramblings so we can serve you better!

Categories: Internet Traffic · Telecom Equipment