
Scientists push a record 57Gbps through fiber optic lines - rayascott
http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/24/scientists-set-fiber-optic-data-record/
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mmmBacon
Ummm. No.

This has been done before in PAM-4 using VCSELs.

[http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/180262/...](http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/180262/local_180262.pdf)

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virtuallynathan
You must work with a lot of optical stuff...

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exabrial
Wait, what does 100gbe run over?

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hristov
As the article explains this is not a record for fiber in general but a record
for a certain type of lower cost lasers. The headline was overly sensational.

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krisroadruck
Indeed. DWDM systems are capable of multiplexing over 17.6 Tbit/s on a single
fiber. Given that most fiber cables pulled these days contain 48+ fibers each
you are looking at line capacities in excess of 840 Tbit/s. Still, if you
strip away the sensationalized title, its a cool bit of progress.

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walrus01
Most long haul fiber cables pulled these days are way more than 48, at minimum
144, 288 or most commonly 864 strand ribbon. If you're trenching 300 km of
fiber along a railway the cable itself is actually a small fraction of the
total project costs. At most a 5% delta between 72 and 288.

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pyvpx
interesting how that works. I've been involved with a few long haul build outs
on the African continent and 48 strand is nearly universal. My understanding
from talking to project managers is "more cable length per reel = less
shipping costs & less splicing"

that and utilizing only a pair with 8 wavelengths on it now means they're
probably good for the next 10-15 years anyway.

probably...

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walrus01
In an African context with limited logistics and trucking options, absolutely.
And the projects are at a bare minimum budget already. I've been involved with
a few, just the subcontract for concrete vaults/splice locations runs on a
shoestring budget. In many cases bringing singlemode to an inland/remote city
will be a dramatic improvement no matter even if it's 12 strands back to the
capitol city/cable landing station location. We're talking about replacing
microwave backhauls that are 4 x STM1 capacity total, serving the entire
inland/up-country area of a nation, with a single 10GbE circuit. Dramatic
difference. And very basic 100 GHz grid DWDM gear can be used.

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pyvpx
nice. I'd love to swap stories some time. I'm posting this from Malawi doing
some CD/PMD testing on a new 48 core that runs the length of the country.

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walrus01
I'm not quite sure how to sent a direct user-to-user message, or if it's
possible, so I'm doing this in a reply... I would also like to compare notes
and previous experience from telecom/ISP work in developing nation
environments. One of the things I think will be interesting to see in the next
few years is the glut of previous-generation DWDM transport gear (Ciena,
Cisco, Infinera, Adva, etc) which is being replaced by US ISPs. Equipment that
can do 40 x 10 Gbps channels in the 100 GHz ITU grid is becoming obsolete and
pretty much everyone is upgrading to gear that can do 100 Gbps per channel.
It'll be available really cheap in the used/refurb market and totally suitable
for long distance applications in Africa where newly installed dark fiber is
available. I already know of a few ISPs in the Seattle area that are pretty
much giving away their old DWDM stuff.

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pyvpx
it seems there is no way to message directly. I hope you see this as well --
would love to discuss further.

aaron at aagico dot com

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booop
So sensational it's embarrassing.

Also, over what distance were they able to achieve 57Gbps? I can't access the
original paper.

