Nokia Bell Labs achieves 1Tbps data transfer over fiber

A joint team of engineers from Nokia Bell Labs, Deutsche Telekom T-Labs and the Technical University of Munich tested PCS (Probabilistic Constellation Shaping) technology. It allowed data to be transmitted over fiber at a record speed of 1 terabit per second. This is 1000 times faster than data transfer in the Google Fiber network.

According to the developers, the new technology will allow telecom operators in the near future to significantly increase the amount of transmitted data. The current speed limit for the backbone network is 40-100 Gbit / s. According to the test participants, the testing was conducted in the field.

Nokia Bell Labs is a division of the Finnish company Nokia. This is, in fact, Bell Labs, which was founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1925. Before the merger of Nokia and Alcatel, Lucent Bell Labs was part of the latter as a research and development department. In 2016, as a result of the abolition of Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Labs came under the control of the Finnish company Nokia.
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Partner research is part of the SASER (Safe and Secure European Routing) project.

Data transmission at a speed of 1 Tbit / s was carried out in the fiber optic network of Deutsche Telekom. Experts say that when testing the system, they almost reached the "Shannon border", established in 1945. The Shannon limit (English Shannon limit) is understood as the maximum transmission rate for which it is possible (to choose a signal-code design) to correct errors in a channel with a given signal-to-noise ratio.

“Testing the Probabilistic Constellation Shaping (PCS) technology using quadrature amplitude modulation showed the possibility of maximally efficient use of the spectrum of optical communication channels,” the scientists said. “PCS alters the frequency of use of signal points, data transfer alphabet. In general, all signal points use the same frequency. In the case of a PSC, high-amplitude signal points are activated less frequently than from a lower amplitude point. As a result, the transmitted signal becomes more resistant to noise and other interference. All this opens up the possibility of adapting the data rate to the channel. This increases the speed by about 30%. "

Scientists were able to transfer data at the rate indicated above from Stuttgart to Darmstadt and back.

The developers argue that it should take some time until such time as conventional fiber-optic networks can transmit data at a speed of 1 Tbit / s. The authors of the project note that more than 50 years have passed since the invention of fiber-optic communication channels. In 1966, Kao and Hokam from the STC Laboratory (STL) presented optical fibers from ordinary glass, which had a attenuation of 1000 dB / km (while the attenuation in a coaxial cable was only 5-10 dB / km) due to impurities, which they contained and which, in principle, could be removed.

After intensive research in the period from 1975 to 1980, the first commercial fiber-optic system was installed, operating with a light wavelength of 0.8 μm and using a gallium arsenide (GaAs) semiconductor laser. The first generation system bit rate was 45 Mbit / s, the distance between the repeaters was 10 km. The construction of the first transoceanic fiber-optic communication line in the world between Japan and the USA was completed in 1988; its length was about 10 thousand kilometers. The first transatlantic optical telephone cable (TAT-8) was also commissioned in 1988.



Now the users of the network are generating more and more data, and more and more bandwidth and technology are needed to transfer data at a higher speed. Every year 100% more data is generated. On the horizon - the ubiquitous deployment of 5G networks, so that the optical communication channels need to evolve to meet the requirements of the time.

According to Marcus Weldon, President of Nokia Bell Labs, Marcus Weldon: “The fiber optic networks of the future must not only provide fast transmission of large data arrays, but also dynamically adapt to any of the channels used, as well as to current traffic needs.”

Nokia also believes that it is necessary to deploy 5G networks as quickly as possible. This will allow faster development of infrastructure for smart cars that can transfer large data files in real time. Doctors high-speed data transmission will allow you to perform operations remotely using controlled robots. Users will be able to work with new media formats and receive content faster than before. One of the first countries where it is planned to “include 5G” is Australia. Here, Vodafone is responsible for the development of a new network infrastructure in this country.

Nokia’s success followed the success of University College London specialists . A team of scientists from this university managed to achieve a record data transfer rate of 1,125 Tbit / s earlier than the Finnish company - at the beginning of the year. The British achieved a record using advanced DSP technology (digital signal processing). This made it possible to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio and increase the data transfer rate.

Other specialists from scientific and commercial organizations in a number of countries are working on optimizing the capacity of communication channels and increasing the speed of data transmission. So there is no doubt that terabit channels will soon be put into operation.