Verizon and NEC announce another industry first: setting records for the highest-capacity transmission over field fiber

NEW YORK - For the third consecutive year, Verizon and NEC Corporation of America announced they have set an industry record, this time by successfully sending the highest-capacity transmissions for regional and long-haul distances over field fiber.

The achievement was accomplished by tightly packing optical channels in two bands of the optical fiber spectrum. Previous field transmission trials used a single optical band. By expanding from one band to two bands — the C-band and the L-band — Verizon and NEC were able to transmit 40.5 terabits per second (1 terabit equals 1,000 gigabits) for a long-haul distance of more than 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) and 54.2 Tb/s over a regional distance of more than 630 kilometers (391 miles), using Verizon’s fiber loop outside Dallas.

The results of the latest trial, performed in late 2012, were accepted and presented as a post-deadline paper at the OFC/NFOEC Conference and Expo last month in Anaheim, Calif.

The ability to use current field fiber to carry higher capacity rates enables carriers to avoid the need to deploy new fiber and, as a result, better utilize current network infrastructure.

“Successful scientific accomplishments such as this demonstrate that Verizon is taking major steps to advance the industry’s understanding of high-capacity optical technology,” said Ed Chan, vice president of network technology for Verizon. “Verizon continues to address the challenge of maximizing performance on our global network while providing lasting business value and best-in-class services for our customers.”

As increased capacity demands are driven by video services, wireless applications, real-time gaming, massive data storage and increased IP services, network providers continue to look for ways to meet that demand without performing large scale infrastructure upgrades. By packing optical channels together and varying different properties of the lightwaves for specific transmission conditions, these trials prove the feasibility and related efficiencies of deploying up to 40 Tb/s for long haul distances and more than 50 Tb/s for regional distances.

“NEC has been relentless in accelerating research and deployment of advanced optical networking solutions to help global carriers to meet the growth in network traffic,” said Toshio Suzuki, general manager for the Converged Network Division of NEC Corporation, Tokyo. “This field trial with Verizon is an exciting achievement that confirms our technology leadership and demonstrates the feasibility of delivering unmatched capacity over existing network infrastructure by utilizing all available frequency spectrum in optical fibers in the most effective manner.”

In 2011 and 2012, Verizon and NEC Corporation of America also set industry records for transmitting high bit-rate technologies over field fiber.