Telecom network vendor Huawei today announced the release of a 400G WDM prototype for long-haul transmission at the OFC 2014 Conference.
The prototype employs Faster Than Nyquist (FTN) technology to increase 400G transmission distance beyond 3000 km, representing a significant breakthrough in the high-speed WDM transmission field.
By utilizing spectrum compression and signal distortion compensation algorithms, FTN technology achieves long-haul transmission of high baud-rate signals on existing networks (similar to transmitting a large file that has been compressed, which requires less bandwidth than transmitting the original file), said Huawei.
The technology enables two types of 400G WDM solutions based on 100 GHz channel spacing — a short-haul solution and the ultra-long-haul solution unveiled at OFC 2014. The ultra-long-haul solution, which applies to backbone transmission, adopts 2SC-PDM-QPSK modulation and supports a record transmission distance of over 3000 km.
The short-haul solution, which applies to metropolitan area network (MAN) transmission, adopts 1SC-PDM-16QAM modulation and allows high-quality 400G transmission over a single carrier wave. Huawei’s single-carrier 400G solution was recently tested on EXATEL’s live network in Poland.
“Huawei has been investing heavily in the high-speed WDM field. The new FTN technology introduced in the prototype exceeds traditional technological limits to deliver ultra-long-haul 400G transmission, breaking new ground for the 400G industry,” said Jack Wang, president of the Huawei transmission network product line.
