Equivalent to sending 400 DVDs per second over a transoceanic cable.

In Paris on September 28, 2009, Alcatel-Lucent announced that scientists have set a new optical transmission record of more than 100 Petabits per second, kilometre (This can be expressed as 100 million Gigabits per second, kilometre). In layman's terms, this transmission speed is the equivalent of sending 400 DVD's per second over a transoceanic cable.

The test was made over a cable 7,000 Kilometers in length which is roughly the distance between Paris and Chicago. This is the highest capacity ever achieved over a transoceanic distance and represents an increase that exceeds that of today's most advanced commercial undersea cables by a factor of ten.

To achieve these record-breaking results the Bell Labs researchers made innovative use of new techniques and a diverse array of technologies.

Gee Rittenhouse, head of Bell Labs Research said "There is no question that this record breaking transmission is a milestone in achieving the network capacity and speeds and a key step forward in satisfying the ongoing explosion in demand. This is a prime example of Bell Labs preeminent research and demonstrates the ability of our researchers to solve complex problems"

The transmissions were accomplished over a network, whose equipment and devices were used to sustain optical signal strength over long distances and were spaced 90 kilometers apart. This spacing distance is 20% greater than that commonly maitained in such networks. The challenge of maintaining transmission over these distances was significantly heightened in these experiments because of the noise of signals that is introduced as transmission speeds increase.

The researchers also increased capacity by interfacing advanced digital signal processors with coherent detection, a new technology that makes it possible to acquire details for a greater number of properties of light than the direct detection method commonly applied in today's systems. Using this technique the researchers were able to effectively increase capacity by increasing the number of light sources introduced into a single fibre yet still separate the light into its constituent colours when it reached its destination.

Details of the breakthrough were presented in a research paper that was reviewed in an exclusive and highly-competitive post deadline session of ECOC 2009, a prestigious European optical communications conference.

This transmission record is just the latest in a long series of Bell Labs optical networking breakthroughs that have become market-changing solutions and generated substantial growth opportunities for Alcatel-Lucent.

Link to Alcatel-Lucent