BT conducted a series of trials of 100, 200, and 400G, as well as an "800G super-channel," using equipment from Ciena.
The trials, which occurred in March 2013, ran over a 410 km network link between BT’s Adastral Park Research and Development Centre in Ipswich and the iconic BT Tower in Central London. The link used high Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) fibre, which was unsuitable for traditional 10G operation but supported the higher rates due to Ciena's WaveLogic 3 transceivers, 6500 Packet-Optical and 4200 Advanced Services platforms.
BT said that for one trial, 400G of traffic was carried and monitored over the network using 16QAM modulation, and operated flawlessly alongside adjacent 40G and 100G QPSK-based wavelengths, reinforcing the smooth migration path offered by Ciena’s coherent technology.
"BT has always been a pioneer in the field of networking, and we can trace our roots back to the very first national telecommunications undertaking in the world – The Electric Telegraph Company. Since then, and with the recent explosion in global connectivity, we have constantly looked for new ways to future proof our infrastructure and provide more bandwidth for the next generation of applications and services. These trials prove that we’re heading in the right direction, and we’re very proud of our role in this latest milestone in the history of communications,” stated Neil J. McRae, chief network architect at BT.
http://www.btplc.com
http://www.ciena.com
