M-net Telekommunikations GmbH, a German service provider, has conducted the first field trial of probabilistically shaped wavelengths using Nokia Photonic Service Engine 3 (PSE 3) super coherent technology.
Specifically, M-net and Nokia enabled a 500 Gbps, single, probabilistically shaped wavelength over a regional DWDM network spanning the German state of Bavaria.
M-net used probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) to shape the signal from its maximum capacity of 600G to a rate optimized for the specific fiber route used in the test.
Dr. Hermann Rodler, CTO at M-net, said: "This field trial clearly underlines the innovative strength of M-net. We are very proud to collaborate with Nokia to push the technology envelope on our state-of-the-art fiber-optic network, and to be the first carrier to publicly test the PSE-3 and its probabilistic constellation shaping technology."
Sam Bucci, head of optical networking at Nokia, said: "We're excited to partner with M-net on the implementation of its new fiber optic backbone network. The Technical University of Munich played a key role in the development of PCS, and the PSE-3 was largely developed at Nokia's R&D facility in Nuremberg, so it's only appropriate that the first field trial of PSE-3 technology would take place in Bavaria."
Nokia's PSE-3 chipset leverages probabilistic constellation shaping
PCS is a new modulation technique pioneered by Nokia Bell Labs that the company says enables maximum capacity over any distance and on any fiber - from metro to subsea - increasing capacity up to 65% over currently deployed networks while reducing power by 60%. This includes 200G rates over most terrestrial and subsea links, as 400G over most shorter distances.
The PSE-3 chipset, which is the first coherent digital signal processor to implement PCS, provides finely adjustable wavelength capacity from 100G to 600G with a single, uniform modulation format, baud rate, and channel size. This simplifies network operations and planning.
"This is a breakthrough in how we can maximize the performance of optical networks and, at the same time, vastly simplify operations. The Photonic Service Engine 3 is the culmination of a decade of research and first-hand experience building the largest, highest capacity optical networks in the world. By introducing this extreme and yet remarkably simple programmability, our customers can now maximize the capacity of every link in their network, whether that's 10 km, 10,000 km or beyond. They will be able to keep their costs under control while handling the huge bandwidth demands that video, cloud, and soon 5G will be throwing at them."
Nokia is planning to introduce the PSE-3 chipset across ist packet-optical portfolio, including a new version of the 1830 Photonic Service Interconnect, a compact modular WDM platform for data center interconnect. The 1830 PSI-M will use modular chassis architecture with high-performance modules based pm the PSE-3. Commercial availability is expected in Q3 2018.
