Telstra claims comms record for speed, distances over single optical channel

Global comms service provider Telstra has announced it has worked with Ericsson and Ciena on a technology trial that has achieved a signal throughput of 1.6Tbps through a single optical channel over 700km.

Moreover, Telstra said it has successfully doubled the capacity of wavelengths, paving the way for more robust, high-capacity networks to support the ever-growing data demands from its customers.

The trial was conducted on the fibre route between Melbourne and Canberra, which is one of the highest capacity routes in Australia. It was carried out alongside live traffic services across the central Telstra InfraCo infrastructure, which is designed to offer diverse connectivity linking Australians across the country and around the globe. The trial was completed on Telstra’s production network, utilising its InfraCo central route between the Lonsdale Exchange in Victoria and Barton Exchange in the ACT. 

The industry-first throughput achievement was said to have been made possible with Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) platform, which uses 3nm silicon technology, taking Telstra’s existing fibre wavelength capacity from 800Gbps to 1.6Tbps. The length of connectivity in the trial was over 200km longer than the previous record for the highest capacity on a single wavelength. 

Going forward, Telstra will enhance its service offering to support 800G connectivity across long-haul infrastructure, including integrating it as part of the Telstra InfraCo intercity fibre network.

“This critical technology will allow us to further future-proof our networks by investing in technology to benefit our customers and enabling us to keep up with the data demands of Australians,” said Telstra fixed engineering executive Sanjay Nayak.

“To put this trial into perspective, 1.6Tbps of bandwidth through a single wavelength is the same bandwidth as over 300,000 Netflix HD streams going at the same time. Or you can download 17PB in a day, which is more than five billion songs, or over 12 billion photos. It’s a 100% increase per channel capacity and a 14.3% increase in capacity per system.”

Matt Vesperman, regional managing director of Ciena Asia Pacific, said: “This successful milestone with Telstra and Ericsson, transmitting more data, faster than ever, over a greater distance, is a strong indicator of our ability to significantly improve network performance efficiency and scale. Once fully deployed, WaveLogic 6 Extreme will help put Telstra at the forefront of bringing a more connected future to Australians and its customers globally.”

Emilio Romeo, head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, said: “This milestone is not only a significant step forward for Telstra, but also a glimpse into the future of telecommunications globally, as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in network performance and scalability.”