Infinera achieves 800G transmission over nearly 1,000km

Infinera have announced the successful conclusion of a trial of their latest 800G technology, with a single-wavelength transmission at 96 Gbaud travelling a whopping 950km. The trial used Infinera’s dual-800G Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE6), which features innovative second-generation Nyquist subcarriers.

 

In contrast to traditional super-channel, where each laser produces a single modulated carrier, the new technology allows for the optical signal to be transmitted using subcarriers, each of which is independently controllable for improved performance.

 

Rob Shore, Infinera’s senior VP of marketing, likened subcarriers to a fleet of data-carrying motorcycles on the motorway, while the traditional single carrier method was more akin to a lorry.

 

“If the lorry encounters a pot hole in the road, the entire vehicle has to slow down. But if one of the motorcycles encounters the same pot hole, only that one motorcycle needs to slow down. All of the other motorcycles can maintain their speed resulting in a higher average speed of data transmission,” he explained.

 

He also added that the ICE6 can now control each subcarrier individually, meaning their signal can be dynamically modified to provide efficiency and maximize performance.

 

Infinera first introduced Nyquist subcarriers in their ICE4 package back in 2016. Four years and two generations of ICE technology later, and exploration of this technology is still accelerating.

 

“Subcarriers are absolutely the future of optic data transmissions,” said Shore.

 

For the operators, this trial represents a significant saving of cost-per-bit and power-per-bit, helping to bolster the core for the capacity needs of 5G and enhanced broadband.

 

“The success of this trial proves our ability to transmit 800G high-baud-rate signals across significant distances, which will be instrumental in driving down network costs,” concluded Infinera’s CTO Parthi Kandappan.

 

 

 

Also in the news: