Verizon reports 1.6 Tbps data transmission field trial

As it faces the need to advance its network components to deliver on the promises of artificial intelligence (AI), operator Verizon has revealed the results of coherent optical network technology that it said will result in businesses using its networks enjoying improved customer experience, higher reliability and significant energy savings.

The trial took place over a 118km Boston metro route that consisted of 10 hops and passed through nine reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers based on WL6e coherent optical technology from Ciena. It allowed Verizon to transport data at 1.6 Tbps across a single wavelength on its live metro fibre network.

At the heart of the trial is the all-encompassing need for the operator to deal with AI workloads, specifically generative AI, with its ability for predictive analytics, which is increasingly becoming a critical component of digital transformation and future business growth in almost all industries.

“AI is contingent on analysing billions of data points in real time on an ongoing basis,” said Adam Koeppe, senior vice-president of technology strategy and planning at Verizon. “Because of the massive, multi-year transformation on Verizon’s network including deploying cloud-native architecture from the core to the edge, deploying massive amounts of high-performing spectrum, exponentially increasing the capacity of our fibre infrastructure and deploying advanced technologies and intelligence throughout the network … provides the ability to power the processes and movements of AI-generated activity.

“Continued advancement of our fibre network will further position us to be the provider of choice for AI workloads now and in the future.”

The technology used in the trial was intended to allow data traveling across Verizon’s fibre network to travel farther and faster, leading to a better customer experience. In addition, the upgrade to this equipment will result in higher reliability and significant energy savings in that portion of the fibre network.

Ciena’s WL6e is claimed to be the industry’s first high-bandwidth coherent transceiver using state-of-the-art 3nm silicon to drive “significant” economic benefits for operators, including a 50% reduction in space and power per bit. In addition to supporting 1.6 Tbps transport, WL6e is attributed with maximising network coverage for 800G connectivity.

In addition to advancing Verizon’s fibre infrastructure to manage greater workloads, Ciena said the technology can offer significant energy savings compared with previous generations. The company estimates that the power efficiency of WL6e translates to an 86% reduction in emissions per terabit of capacity delivered (kgCO2e/Tb) compared with previously deployed technology.

“Ciena’s WL6e is designed to cater to AI traffic growth and the continuing surge in bandwidth-intensive applications,” said Brodie Gage, senior vice-president of global products and supply chain at Ciena. “WL6e uses coherent DSP innovations to provide the highest capacity over fibre, which will support Verizon’s throughput and capacity goals, supporting more traffic and faster speeds than ever before.”