ECI Telecom Doubles Capacity, Extends Reach of Metro ROADM Platform

ECI Telecom Ltd. announced at NXTCOMM it has upgraded its XDM MSTP to be deployed in regional and long-haul networks by doubling the channel capacity and extending the reach to 2,000km. Enhancements will be available commercially by the end of the year.

“Today, the segmentation between metro regional and long haul is not as black-and-white as it used to be,” said Ram Orenstein, associate vice president of marketing and product line management for ECI Telecom’s Optical Networks Division. “With our approach, we believe we have turned the XDM into a cost-effective platform for metro regional or long haul or both.”

Orenstein said the enhanced solution is designed for mesh networks where the link distances vary drastically from just a few hundred kilometers to 1,000 or more. “In a traditional approach, a carrier would need to purchase two systems – a metro or metro regional and a long haul system for the longer links,” he said.

ECI Telecom will increase the XDM’s capacity from 40 channels of 10gig to 80 by using 50GHz spacing as opposed to using L band spectrum. The distance will grow from 1500km to 2,000km.

ECI Telecom achieves these improvements with the introduction of additional high-power amplifiers and new very long reach transponders that can transmit error free even when the signal to noise ratio is low. “The longer you go and the more amps you have on your link, the lower the signal-to-noise ratio becomes,” said Orenstein. Combating this requires more sophisticated transponders that are able to track the signals from the noise without any errors. “We are upgrading both our transponders and our amplifiers. This is how we achieve the reach expansion.”

The upgrade also includes the ROADM, which also now supports 80 channels at 2,000km, enabling carriers to introduce multidegree ROADM functionality further into their networks without adding more gear or intersystem cabling.

The enhancements are the latest in a series with the same intention. At GLOBALCOMM, the company introduced reach and capacity enhancements to extend the XDM platform from metro to regional.

Emanuel Nachum, ECI Telecom’s vice president of marketing for the Americas, said in recent customer wins having one system that covers metro and regional geographies has eliminated back-to-back systems and additional sites for amplifiers. “These are colocation sites that have significant opex costs and we were able to eliminate those and present a cost-effective solution,” he said.

Emery Telecommunications & Video, a subsidiary of Utah-based Emery Telcom, for example, has selected ECI Telecom’s XDM All-Range ROADM and MSTP to support 40 10gbps wavelengths over a 300-mile statewide fiber transport network delivering broadband data and video services to residential and business subscribers, educational institutes and government agencies.

"By leveraging the XDM's integrated long-haul capabilities and multiservice functionality, we can significantly reduce our total network cost while increasing our service agility – a win-win situation," said ETV CEO Brock Johansen.

The upgrades from metro regional to long haul are expected to have similar results. “We truly believe there is a great demand for it. We don’t think it is overkill,” said Orenstein.

Emery Telcom www.emerytelcom.com
ECI Telecom www.ecitele.com

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