Nokia and M-net Trial New Optical Data Transmission Technology
Nokia and German provider M-net have conducted the first field trial of probabilistically shaped wavelengths. The test achieved 500 Gbps data transmission per wavelength.
Espoo, Finland – Nokia and German service provider M-net have announced the completion of the first field trial utilizing Nokia's Photonic Service Engine 3 (PSE 3) super coherent technology with probabilistically shaped wavelengths.
M-net is preparing to roll out its new WDM network in Bavaria and has become the first carrier to trial Nokia's PSE 3 technology. The PSE 3 is the first digital signal processor to implement probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS). This technique, pioneered by Bell Labs, finely adjusts the optical signal to maximize the data-carrying capacity of optical fiber over any distance.
M-net successfully transmitted 500 gigabits per second (Gbps) per wavelength over a deployed regional network. Using PCS, the signal was shaped from its maximum capacity of 600 Gbps to an optimized rate for the specific fiber route used in the test. This flexibility allows M-net to maximize the capacity of every network fiber, ensuring their network will meet the demands of soaring video traffic and 5G mobile broadband.
Hermann Rodler, CTO at M-net, stated that the field trial underscores M-net's innovative strength. Sam Bucci, head of optical networking at Nokia, added that the collaboration with M-net on their new fiber optic backbone network is significant, especially as the PSE 3 technology was partly developed at Nokia's R&D facility in Nuremberg.