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Nortel Networks Breaks Own 'Land Speed Record' Using Light -- Redefines Speed of Internet & Networking
-TELECOM '99 trade show the stage for world's first 80 Gbps Platform Demo
"Today we've set a new Internet and networking 'land speed record' using light," said John Roth, president and Chief Executive Officer, Nortel Networks. "This unprecedented technology breakthrough will revolutionize the speed, reliability, quality and economics of the Internet we know today. It will provide the necessary foundation for a new high-performance Internet built on extreme capacity optical networking in the backbone, and integrated optical and packet signaling at the core. This will in turn drive massive discontinuities in every business, creating a new era for communication, collaboration and commerce."
Commercial availability of Nortel Networks' scalable 40 to 80 Gbps platform is planned for 2001. The platform will be capable of increasing capacity as high as 6.4 Tbps through Dense-Wavelength Division Multiplexing (D-WDM) technology that combines channels of light into one beam for increased traffic capacity on a single fiber, providing sufficient speed and capacity to reliably connect 2500 backbone routers on a fiber pair.
Nortel Networks' industry leading capability was displayed on the company's stand at TELECOM '99 making this the world's first non-laboratory exhibit of an 80 Gbps platform operating at double the line rate of any previous demonstration. Fiber optic traffic on the exhibit system is carried over 480 km of fiber, equivalent to the distance between Paris and Geneva, converting the Information Highway into an autobahn of light.
"This technology is out of the ball park in terms of the capacity it will support," said Anil Khatod, president Optical Internet, Nortel Networks. "Nortel Networks is dedicated to ensuring our customers have the exponential capacity needed to meet explosive bandwidth demand driven by advanced applications and services."
"The world's reliance on electronic commerce over the Internet in the new Millennium is going to be like nothing we have ever seen before, and optics are the basis for these networks," said Chris Nicoll, director Infrastructure Analysis at Current Analysis. "Nortel Networks is demonstrating their foresight in developing world-leading technology to meet that bandwidth demand. I support their vision of an Optical Internet enabled by this kind of capacity."
Nortel Networks Optical Internet breakthrough uses advanced optical amplification technology to extend the reach of optical signaling and reduce network cost. It uses more of the light spectrum so that increased traffic can be carried on a single fiber. Nortel Networks' 80 Gbps platform will support up to 80 wavelengths to reach the unprecedented 6.4 Tbps per fiber level. In addition, the system is designed to deliver 99.999 percent reliability, best system performance in the industry, and will be managed end-to-end using Nortel Networks' Integrated Network Management. 'Real world' experience gained through the company's 90 percent market share in 10 Gbps Optical systems has allowed Nortel Networks to become the undisputed leader in high-capacity optical networking.
Nortel Networks announced earlier this year its OPTera* 1600G optical amplification system that delivers 1.6 Terabits per second on a single fiber, operating on the OPTera LH platform. Customers committed to deploying its OPTera backbone solutions include COLT Telecom Group plc, Qwest Communications, Worldwide Fiber, Level 3 Communications, IXC Communications, and Cable & Wireless. MCI WorldCom has committed to a live commercial trial of the OPTera 1600G optical amplification system in fourth quarter this year. Customers using Nortel Networks OPTera solutions will be able to scale their existing networks to take advantage of the scalable 40 to 80 Gbps platform as it is introduced.
Most recently, the company announced OPTera Packet Solution, another breakthrough technology that will unify packet and optical networks and enable improved switching and routing capabilities for the Optical Internet.
The rollout of inventive optical networking technology in 1999 has included:
- OPTera Packet Solution for unified packet and optical networks, enabling next-generation switching and routing (Sept. 28)
- Optical Protection Rings, a world-first open optical solution for protecting 10 Gbps on-ramp and router traffic (Sept. 28)
- OPTera Connect optical cross-connects to link high-capacity optical devices and provide end-to-end bandwidth management (June 7)
- OPTera 1600G optical amplification system for scalable open optical networks up to 1.6 Terabits per second per fiber (May 4)
- OPTera Metro, world's first open optical ring-based solution for metro networks, scalable to 80 Gbps using D-WDM, introduced (Feb. 23)
- OPTera LH platform announced for open optical 10 Gbps networking scalable to 320 Gbps (Feb. 23).
"The progression towards creating the Optical Internet is accelerating," said Nortel Networks' Roth. "We've been able to achieve this progress through the dedication of our people, major investment in our research and development, and through the experience of 'real world' networking that provides a wealth of experience beyond that discovered in the lab."
The global optical networking market is expected to reach $US 35 billion by 2002, with capacity requirements doubling every nine months. Nortel Networks revenues derived from optical networking are growing at a rate of more than 50 percent annually.
Nortel Networks delivers value to customers around the world through Unified Networks* solutions, spanning mission-critical telephony and IP-optimized networks. Customers include public and private enterprises and institutions; Internet service providers; local, long-distance, cellular and PCS communications companies, cable television carriers, and utilities.
Nortel Networks' common shares are listed on the New York, Toronto, Montreal and London stock exchanges. Nortel Networks had 1998 revenues of US$17.6 billion and has approximately 70,000 employees worldwide.
Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price and product competition; the dependence on new product development; the impact of rapid technological and market change; the ability of Nortel Networks to integrate the operations and technologies of acquired businesses in an effective manner; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, particularly in emerging markets and including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; unanticipated impact of Year 2000 issues; and the impact of consolidations in the telecommunications industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see the reports filed by Nortel Networks with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Nortel Networks disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
*Nortel Networks, the Nortel Networks Globemark, Unified Networks, How the world shares ideas, and OPTera are trademarks of Nortel Networks Corporation.
