Ciena is boosting the horsepower of GeoMesh Extreme submarine solution by adding support for L-Band spectrum. The platform also gains the ability to operate on TE SubCom’s L-Band wet plant system, nearly doubling the information-carrying capacity of a submarine cable.
Specifically, in addition to current C-Band (~ 1530nm to 1565nm) spectrum, Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution now opens up the L-Band (~ 1656nm to 1625nm) in the same optical fiber, doubling the carrying capacity of an undersea cable.
Some highlights:
- The same technology used by Ciena’s C-Band SLTE, which is deployed worldwide, is ported to the new L-Band SLTE to ensure the highest level of performance. Ciena has already deployed in the L-Band over terrestrial networks for many years and will leverage this extensive knowledge, expertise, and field experience to ensure a seamless migration into the L-Band in submarine networks.
- TE SubCom announced earlier in 2017 that it has demonstrated a new transmission record of 70.4 Tb/s capacity over 7,600 km. This record transmission is made possible utilizing SubCom’s C+L technology, effectively doubles the available transmission bandwidth of the repeater by an unprecedented factor of two in supported capacity per fiber pair when compared to the same number of fiber pairs in traditional C-Band technology.
- Submarine cable operators will also benefit from Ciena’s advanced Blue Planet MCP solution that allows for managing the Ciena C/L-Band SLTE and TE SubCom C/L-Band wet plant from a single, unified management platform for a seamless, end-to-end, best-in-breed Open Cable.
“Our partnership with TE SubCom has been critical in ensuring that customers can meet demand growth while delivering the highest level of performance. Leveraging L-Band, over and above the traditional C-Band, changes the economics of submarine network connectivity by providing unprecedented improvements in capacity, reliability, and simplicity,” stated Steve Alexander, Chief Technology Officer, Ciena.
