STL introduced a line of multicore fibre and cable products developed at its Centre of Excellence in Maharashtra, India.
Speaking at the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel, said: "I am excited to see this optical fibre innovation from a homegrown company. STL's Multiverse fibre and cable will enable 4X capacity and play a vital role in 5G scale-up. I wish STL all the very best for their efforts towards supporting network build outs."
euNetworks Fiber UK has deployed a new ultra low latency route between Basildon and London that connects the ICE data centre to Interxion LON1 and LON2 and then onwards to Slough.
The new route is over 45km long and includes 14 km of Lumenisity's CoreSmart hollowcore cable, which is compatible with regular single mode fibre.
The route is the longest commercial deployment of hollowcore fibre technology to date and its use is exclusive to euNetworks and its customers. It is also the first commercial construction of a long distance hybrid route of hollowcore fibre and regular single mode fibre.
Lumenisity says data travels 50% faster in hollowcore cable, reducing latency by 33%, and providing a round trip saving of 3μs (three microseconds) per kilometre. These latency savings are hugely significant in financial trading applications. They can also be scaled to increase the separation of data centres by 50%, whilst maintaining the latency envelope, more than doubling the area of land in which these data centres can be located.
“We have successfully delivered increasingly longer deployments of hollowcore fibre in our network, becoming the first fibre provider in the world to utilise the benefits of this new fibre technology in commercial markets,” said Paula Cogan, President of euNetworks. “From the initial 1km pilot, the teams have gone on to deploy hollowcore cable lengths of 7km and 14km on our network, as well as successfully blending hollowcore fibre with regular single mode fibre on this latest route. We continue to be focused on delivering the best possible bandwidth solutions for our customers and look forward to deploying longer routes with Lumenisity in the coming quarters. Leading the market in fibre-based ultra low latency services throughout Europe remains a key focus for euNetworks.”
“We are pleased to partner with euNetworks again, successfully deploying this new route and achieving this hollowcore cable link length”, said Tony Pearson, VP Sales & Marketing at Lumenisity. “We are excited to reach this milestone with euNetworks, and will continue to deliver a unique cable solution offering longer reach and lower latency for their customers.”
The stakes could not be higher. With over $42 billion in new federal funding soon to become available, coupled with billions of dollars in addition government grants and private investments, the United States is embarking on a once-in-a-generation upgrade program to bring fiber connectivity to communities across the country.
Gary Bolton, president of Fiber Broadband Association, provides a brief preview of this week's Fiber Connect 2022 conference and exhibition in Nashville.
Comcast confirmed its first deployment of advanced hollowcore fiber optics.
Comcast connected two locations in Philadelphia, which enables network engineers to continue to test and observe the performance and physical compatibility of hollowcore fiber in a real-world deployment. Comcast successfully tested bidirectional transmission (upstream and downstream traffic traveling on a single fiber), used coherent and direct-detect systems (allowing for forward and backward technology compatibility), and produced traffic rates ranging from 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) to 400 Gbps all simultaneously on a single strand of hollowcore fiber.
Comcast believes its 40-kilometer hybrid deployment of hollowcore and traditional fiber to be the longest in the world by an Internet provider.
“Hollowcore fiber is a leap forward in how we deliver ultra-fast, ultra-low latency and ultra-reliable services to customers,” said Elad Nafshi, EVP & Chief Network Officer at Comcast Cable. “As we continue to develop and deploy technology to deliver 10G, multigigabit performance to tens of millions of homes, hollowcore fiber will help to ensure that the network powering those experiences is among the most advanced and highest performing in the world.”
“We are proud to be working with Comcast on the next generation hollowcore fiber, which we believe unlocks exciting new potential for connectivity around the world,” said David Parker, Executive Chairman of Lumenisity.
http://www.comcastcorporation.com
Lumenisity Limited, a start-up based in Romsey, United Kingdom, announced a new generation of hollowcore fibre with the lowest attenuation of any hollowcore fibre reported to date. The company says its new product surpasses the attenuation of conventional germanium-doped single-mode fibre (SMF) in the O and C bands.
Specifically, Lumenisity’s new Hollow Core Double Nested Antiresonant Nodeless Fiber (DNANF) achieves attenuations of <0.22 dB per km at 1310nm and <0.18 dB per km at 1550nm -- lowest loss ever recorded for any optical fibre in the O band and comparable or better than conventional single mode fibre in the C band.
David Parker, Chairman at Lumenisity said, “We are very excited about this ground-breaking fibre development. We will now look to start shipping DNANF cabled solutions to customers in the second half of this year from our new, state-of-the-art hollowcore fibre manufacturing facility located in Romsey, UK; the first of its kind in the world.”
Prysmian Group has extended its Sirocco Extreme range of microduct cables to include its latest 576f cable.
The new cable boasts 576 fibres in a diameter of 8.2mm, providing a fibre density of 10.9 fibres per mm2, and can be installed into a 10mm duct.
Prysmian’s BendBrightXS 180μm single-mode (ITU-T G.657.D, G.657.A2) bend insensitive fibre fully compatible for splicing with any standard fibre, offering a truly future-proof solution that is prepared for evolved systems.
“Bend-insensitive fibre optic cables are a crucial part of the world’s shift towards flexible and reliable connectivity,” said Ian Griffiths, Director R&D Telecom Business at Prysmian Group. “With their extreme fibre count and reduced diameter, Sirocco Extreme microduct cables make installations faster and more cost-effective. Designed for installation into microducts, they are ideally suited for blowing in high density access, FTTx and 5G networks.”
Available in fibre counts from 192 to 576 and conforming to international standards for optical and mechanical performance, the Sirocco Extreme cables benefit from the use of Prysmian’s PicoTube technology. This makes them up to 15% smaller than Sirocco HD microduct cables, Prysmian’s previously record holding 200μm microduct cables. As a result, it is possible to install more fibres into a congested duct space and smaller ducts can be used for new installations, reducing installation costs and the use of less raw materials. This provides further benefits of a decreased total cost of network deployment and smaller environmental footprint.
Total global revenue for the Broadband Access equipment market increased to $3.9 B in 3Q 2021, up 7 percent year-over-year (Y/Y), according to a new report from Dell'Oro Group. Growth came from spending on both PON infrastructure and fixed wireless CPE.
"5G fixed wireless deployments joined fiber as the primary drivers for spending this quarter," noted Jeff Heynen, Vice President, Broadband Access and Home Networking at Dell'Oro Group. "Despite supply chain constraints and increased costs, operators continue to focus on expanding broadband connectivity," explained Heynen.
Additional highlights from the 3Q 2021 Broadband Access and Home Networking quarterly report:
Prysmian Group is investing $85 million in major equipment and technology upgrades at plants in North America.
The company said most of these investments and upgrades will take place at the Prysmian Group Claremont, N.C. facility to expand production of optical products. Additionally, the Claremont facility is expected to grow to 620 employees in the next 18 months, adding up to 70 new jobs.
“Prysmian Group is committed to support the growth necessary to expand access to high-speed broadband in North America,” said Andrea Pirondini, Chief Executive Officer of Prysmian Group North America “The U.S. Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and the Canadian Universal Broadband Fund will also help build local economies and provide access to healthcare services and education opportunities. Prysmian Group continues to experience strong demand in North America for optical fiber in the telecom sector, and is proud to play a lead role as an enabler of the digital transformation across the Country. With these investments, we can continue to meet customer needs in support of 5G development in the U.S. and Canada.” ended Pirondini.
With a strong legacy in manufacturing optical fiber and cable for a broad range of applications, the Group has four telecom production sites in the United States. In particular, the Claremont R&D center is the only one of its kind, co-located in a joint optical fiber and optical fiber cable manufacturing facility.
Comcast has built a prototype system called XMF to gain visibility into its local fiber networks. The design purposes mature opto-electronic chips used for long-haul optical analysis, making it economically feasible to install ultra-precise fiber diagnostic tools at many points throughout local fiber networks.
Comcast is also rolling out a handheld version of the XMF platform that technicians can use in the field to identify fiber link issues.
Sumitomo Electric Industries unveiled its new "AirEB", a multi-fiber connector with an expanded beam that has optical performance tolerant to the contamination on the connector mating faces.
The new AirEB connector has a lens structure at the end face of the connector, which expands the optical beam to be tolerant of foreign dust particles and keeps optical performance good with less frequent cleaning, or even without cleaning.
The company cites the following advantages of its AirEB connector:
Corning is showcasing its new fiber and cable innovations at this week's virtual OFC. Highlights:
“Reliable, high-speed connectivity has never been more vital – from access networks, to cloud data centers, to smart buildings, to the promise of 5G,” said Dr. Bernhard Deutsch, vice president and general manager, Corning Optical Fiber and Cable. “Optical fiber, cable, and connectivity are at the center of all these technologies. As bandwidth demands accelerate, Corning remains at the forefront of innovation for every segment of the network.”
Corning’s experts will offer insights on industry trends during workshops throughout the conference. Topics including co-packaged optics; the next 10 years of optical networks; power efficiency in submarine fiber systems; and the past, present, and future of fiber innovation.
Sumitomo Electric Industries introduced a handheld fiber splicer that uses artificial intelligence to significantly improve splicing efficiency and accuracy regardless of operational condition and user skill.
The splicer also features an industry-first fiber type detection function tha allows the unit to distinguish between MMF and SMF fiber types and ensure use of the correct splice program.
Corning introduced its SMF-28 Contour optical fiber featuring enhanced bend resilience, network compatibility, and industry-leading low loss characteristics.
Highlights:
SMF-28 Contour fiber is available in a standard 242-micron configuration and a smaller 190-micron configuration.
Corning says smaller-diameter designs are increasingly important because while bandwidth demands have grown, the space available for network infrastructure has not. The 190-micron version of SMF-28 Contour fiber enables smaller cables with higher fiber counts – maximizing use of existing infrastructure
“Corning’s revolutionary SMF-28 Contour optical fiber is the latest example of our ability to solve tough industry challenges,” said Dr. Bernhard Deutsch, vice president and general manager, Corning Optical Fiber and Cable. “Operators today are looking to deploy future-ready networks as efficiently as possible, often in densely cabled environments, and we’ve designed this new product to answer those needs. Fifty years after Corning scientists invented the first low-loss optical fiber, we’re proud to help drive a new era of industry growth and network transformation.”
Optical Cable Corporation, which supplies a broad range of fiber optic and copper data communication cabling and connectivity solutions, has been awarded a contract to supply certain of OCC's proprietary products to a major defense contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. OCC has received a purchase order totaling more than $1.0 million.
Neil Wilkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of OCC, said, "OCC is proud of its long history designing and manufacturing products for the U.S. military. Once again, we are humbled to do our part by leveraging our innovative technologies and substantial capabilities to supply and support the brave men and women protecting our freedom. We are fortunate to count a number of veterans among our dedicated team, and all of us look forward to delivering the products and solutions on which our military relies and for which OCC is known."
NEC and its subsidiary OCC Corporation have completed full qualification of subsea repeaters and optical cable containing up to 24 fiber pairs (FPs) (48 fibers). The new qualification is a 50% improvement in fiber count over the 16 fiber pair systems generally available today.
Only minor modifications were needed to NEC's existing repeater and cable designs. Keeping NEC's quadruple pump redundancy in the repeater (established more than 10 years ago) and maintaining OCC's outstanding cabling performance has resulted in cabled attenuations lower than 0.150dB/km. Low attenuation is critical to achieve large spectral efficiency as well as lower power consumption.
NEC said the qualification will allow for the construction of subsea telecom cables with superior traffic capacity while reducing the cost per bit of the wet plant. The development is fully in line with SDM (Space Division Multiplexing) system architectures.
"As global demands for capacity and FP flexibility continue to soar, NEC is committed to helping our customers to build up their subsea networks with large spectral efficiency, lower power consumption and large-scale subsea connectivity," said Yoshihisa Inada, Deputy General Manager and Head of Subsea Technology Development at NEC's Submarine Network Division. "We continue to evaluate multiple technical options to further increase capacity and reduce the cost/bit of the networks."
OCC's 24 fiber pair cable can be manufactured using a wide range of existing optical fibers, according to the needs of each new cable system. Each fiber can be visually identified using a field-proven combination of ring marking and conventional fiber coloring, first introduced in 2013. Furthermore, in OCC cable, the fiber's transmission performance is completely unaffected, either by the fiber marking or cabling processes.
"We have concluded that the use of our fibers in OCC's 24 pair cable results in a cabled attenuation matching the nominal value. We are confident that our ultra-low-loss fibers can contribute to achieve large capacity, high spectral efficiency and low power consumption in transoceanic networks," said Dr. Masashi Onishi, General Manager at Optical Fiber and Cable division of Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.
"To support growing bandwidth, next generation subsea systems will offer Petabit-scale transmission. To achieve the required performance, cabling processes must capture the advantaged optical attenuation and large effective area of our ultra-low-loss fibers. OCC's cabling process for 24 fiber pairs works with our high quality fiber to meet the challenge," said Dr. Bernhard Deutsch, VP & GM, Optical Fiber & Cable, Corning Incorporated.
Corning introduced a new line of miniaturized terminals and connectors for simplifying fiber deployments. The new Evolv Hardened Connectivity Solutions with Pushlok Technology are designed for space-constrained environments, including FTTH deployments and 5G small cell applications.
The Pushlok hardened connectors are half the size of existing offerings, connecting to terminals that are up to four times smaller. In addition, Pushlok Technology enables simple one-handed drop installation, with tactile and audible feedback.
The compact, easy-to-install Evolv terminals can be deployed in the ground, on a pole or facade, or on a strand. Corning estimates operators can save up to $500 per terminal location by shrinking handhole and pedestal size, reusing existing infrastructure, reducing pole-attachment fees and streamlining permitting.
“With the Evolv HC Solutions and Pushlok Technology, Corning is working with our customers to reduce barriers in deploying 5G-ready networks,” said Bob Whitman, vice president of market development, Carrier Networks, Corning Optical Communications. “More and more often, installers must deploy fiber in tight spaces not originally designed for today’s density of connections – and all types of network operators are looking to deploy more quickly and economically. That’s why they’ll find our miniaturized solutions so valuable, wherever they need to go.”
“These optical solutions are a prime example of Corning’s innovation portfolio in action,” Whitman said. “We’re leveraging our unparalleled expertise in optical physics and precision forming to co-innovate with our customers to solve their toughest technology problems – creating another competitive advantage that will help Corning deliver for customers and outperform the passive optical market over time.”
The European Commission is launching an investigation into the alleged dumping of single mode optical fibre cables from China into the EU at below market prices.
The complaint was initiated by producers representing more than 25% of the total EU production of optical fibre cable. The complaint argues that the price of optical fibre cables in China is articially low due to distortions in the Chinese telecommunications sector by the Government of China.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:JOC_2020_316_R_0009&from=EN
matrix material to form a very flexible ribbon. This design allows the ribbons to be rolled into very tight bundles, helping to double the fiber density of a cable. These fibers can then be unrolled into preorganized ribbon packages that help to reduce fiber crossovers and speed termination. The rollable ribbons can be spliced using traditional flat ribbon splicing machines and procedures.
To achieve this density, the cable leverages 200 μm diameter fiber along with the company's Spider Web Ribbon (SWR) technology, which is a 12 core optical fiber ribbon.
