PARIS, May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcatel-Lucent
Submarine Networks, the submarine cables subsidiary of
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), is to enable
undersea cable system operators to meet increased demand for
capacity, connectivity and flexible data exchange with the
introduction of a major innovation that will transform existing
submarine line terminal assets.
ASN's 1620 SOFTNODE is an industry-first platform that will
enable the transmission of 240 terabit-per second (Tbit/s) on
multiple fiber pairs. This will allow operators to open up the path
to new data services, while extending their reach and creating
long-haul economies of scale.
The 1620 SOFTNODE has been selected by GoTo Networks for the
Australia West Express system, the first direct undersea cable
between Australia, the Middle
East and Africa. The
platform's capabilities were also demonstrated during a recent
field trial conducted over the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) system, which has been in service
since December 2012. The field trial
demonstrated a breakthrough transmission of 12.6 Tbit/s of data per
fiber pair.
The 1620 SOFTNODE platform leverages the field-proven 1620LM
submarine line terminal equipment, and will provide webscale
connectivity between data centres and Points-of-Presence (PoPs) in
different continents. Thanks to new and enhanced features, such as
one single line card for variable bit rates, it will offer complete
scalability from the smallest upgrades to the largest new systems,
faster transmission speeds and a wider range of channel spacings on
longer routes, maximizing capacity and flexibility over undersea
systems of any reach.
Additionally, the 1620 SOFTNODE will optimize the footprint in
the landing station as the new terminal equipment dimensions are
reduced by as much as ten times, also reducing power consumption by
a factor of 2-3 compared to previous generation SLTE
technology.
Olivier Gautheron, Chief Technology Officer of Alcatel-Lucent
Submarine Networks said: "New undersea plant is emerging offering
larger spectrum and more fiber pairs to serve new data centers with
ultra high capacity. At the same time, existing undersea plant
designed with legacy technology needs to better support design
capacity, connectivity and flexibility. By evolving the 1620 SLTE
architecture to SOFTNODE, new and enhanced node configurations will
provide more advantages over traditional submarine cable
architectures both at node level and at system level."
The flexibility offered by the proprietary spectrum engineering
within SOFTNODE allows bit rates to be tuned according to each
specific application -- for example 400G for regional use and 300G
for transoceanic transit. The variable bit rates are optimized by
using a single line card. While the single line card provides the
flexibility to use 100, 200, 300 and 400 Gbit/s transmission, it
also provides a full set of tools to further tune the transmission
performance for any given link.
About the 1620 SOFTNODE
The innovative 1620 SOFTNODE
incorporates additional flexibility to allow faster data speeds
100G/200G/300G/400G:
- Distances up to 14,000km offering multi-PoP (point of presence)
to multi-PoP network configurations with multi-degree nodes
connected to more fibers.
- Stepless tuning of optical transmission to extract the best
capacity from the wet plant and dry plant via 48 software
configurable submarine modulation formats.
- A true gridless architecture providing the capability to tune
any wavelength in the spectrum down to 33GHz with no fixed
granularity.
- Anticipates future evolutions to 400GbE and Software-Defined
Networking (SDN).
- Ability to transport any OTN and GMPLS connection.
- Optimization of terrestrial backhaul networks by the reduction
of the required number of fiber pairs to extend trans-oceanic
capacity to inland PoPs and data centers.
- One single card does it all for easy plug and play, with
simplified installation and fast/dynamic provisioning.
About Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks
Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks leads the industry in terms of
capacity and installed based with more than 575,000 km of optical
submarine cables/systems deployed worldwide. From traditional
telecom to new Oil & Gas applications, ASN provides every part
of a global undersea transmission network, all tailored to the
customer's needs. An extensive service portfolio completes its
comprehensive offering for the submarine business, including
project management, installation and commissioning and marine
operations and maintenance performed by its fleet of seven cable
ships.
About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and
NYSE: ALU)
Alcatel-Lucent is the leading IP networking,
ultra-broadband access and cloud technology specialist. We are
dedicated to making global communications more innovative,
sustainable and accessible for people, businesses and governments
worldwide. Our mission is to invent and deliver trusted networks to
help our customers unleash their value. Every success has its
network.
For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on:
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the
Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow
the Company on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alcatel-lucent-unveils-major-transformation-for-undersea-cable-systems-300080775.html
SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent