OREANDA-NEWS. August 21, 2013. Verizon has successfully completed a field trial demonstrating the ability to double the capacity of a fiber by using 200G technology on Verizon’s ultra-long-haul production network between New York and Boston.

The trial, which involved sending traffic approximately 260 miles, proves the ability to double spectral efficiency while reducing the cost per bit when compared with 100G technology, currently the fastest speed available on Verizon’s network. By doubling the spectral efficiency, this advanced technology can help meet the robust traffic growth from such drivers as online video, LTE 4G and cloud usage.

The trial used the same hardware that currently supports Verizon’s 100G ultra-long-haul traffic, along with pre-production software to configure a Ciena Wavelogic3 coherent optical processor. Coherent optic technology reduces the amount of amplification necessary to send the optical signal while increasing the distance it can be sent without additional loss of signal quality.

The trial used 16QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) on a single wavelength with the typical 50GHz channel spacing to increase the amount of traffic carried. The 16QAM technology doubles the number of bits per wavelength, allowing for twice the data to be encoded when compared with standard 100G technology.

“Verizon continues to lead the industry in next-generation technology research and take our network to the next level to meet future needs of our business and consumer customers,” said Ed Chan, vice president of network technology for Verizon. “This accomplishment is a key technology differentiator and lays the groundwork for Verizon to continue to deliver capacity relief in a robust and scalable way.”

For more than a month, the 200G transmission was conducted on a Verizon ultra-long-haul optical system, with no impact to the live customer traffic also carried on the system, validating this technology in an operational network.

“Proving greater spectral efficiency and a lower cost per bit, this trial illustrates the ability to double the traffic carrying capacity of optical channels with no change to the underlying infrastructure,” said Francois Locoh-Donou, senior vice president, Global Products Group, Ciena. “And the fact that this field trial was successfully conducted on a critical route of Verizon’s production network alongside live customer traffic demonstrates Ciena’s commitment to delivering innovative, real-world solutions that allow customers to extract additional value from existing infrastructure investments.”

High-bandwidth technology continues to evolve quickly with significant progress made during the past decade. Verizon has been a leader in high bit rate technology and was the first global carrier to deploy 100G technology on an ultra-long-haul route in 2009.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with more than 100 million retail connections nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries.  A Dow 30 company with nearly \\$116 billion in 2012 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 180,900.  For more information, visit about.verizon.com.