In its Innovation Lab, together with Infinera and InPhoTech group, Orange Polska ran tests of innovative multi-core fibre and Infinera ICE6 800G technology. The throughput obtained during the tests is seven times greater than the maximum that can be achieved today using a standard fibre optic cable.
"At Orange Polska, we know how important technological innovations are, and we are constantly testing new, advanced telecommunication solutions. We also know that the demand for high-speed transfer is growing rapidly, and the pandemic-driven spread of remote online work, learning and commerce has further accelerated this growth. In the near term, the next challenge in this area will be the deployment of the 5G technology. That's why we're constantly investing in the development of our infrastructure, while keeping a watchful eye on the R&D activities of industry manufacturers that could help us deliver reliable services to our customers in the future," said Piotr Jaworski, Management Board Member in charge of Network and Technology.
Developed within the InPhoTech group in cooperation with the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and with the support of the Photonics and Fibre Optics Cluster, the multi-core fibre allows transmission in seven parallel cores simultaneously. This means that its capacity is 7 times greater than that of a standard telecommunications fibre. Such optical fibres will be produced in Lubartów by IPT Fiber from InPhoTech group.
Tests have shown that the Infinera hardware allows for record-breaking 800 Gb/s data transmission in a single transmission channel. The experiment, conducted in collaboration with Orange, used two channels sending data at a speed of 1.6 Tb/s (1 Tb/s = 1000 Gb/s), in each of the 7 cores simultaneously. This gave a total transmission of 11.2 Tb/s. The quality of the signal measured by such parameters as Q-factor and bit error rate (BER) was fully compliant with the applicable standards.
"We are delighted to have partnered with Orange and Infinera to achieve record transmission. We are a pioneer in the development of next-generation multi-core optical fibres. By combining our product with Infinera's innovative technology and testing them in Orange's innovation lab, we were able to demonstrate record-breaking data capabilities," said Tomasz Nasiłowski, Ph.D., President of the Board of InPhoTech.
The aim of the tests was also to check if the multi-core IPT Fiber could be used with the state-of-the-art infrastructure adapted to work with standard and currently used single-core optical fibres, and if such a connection would meet the transmission requirements of the operator. This has been confirmed.
"Thanks to our tests, we already know that the transmission capability in seven-core C-band fibre is as high as 296 Tb/s. These are record numbers, but not the end of our capabilities. Using the entire transmission spectrum, i.e. all available bands - our fibre will be able to achieve throughputs at the level of petabits per second (Pb/s) or thousands of terabits. I am glad that our Polish optical fibre is becoming a real answer to the global telecommunication barriers," said Krzysztof Witoń, CEO of IPT Fiber responsible for the deployment of multi-core fibre optics.
“The success of the ICE6 trial with Orange and InPhoTech highlights the tremendous value provided by Infinera’s innovative 800G solution, which can seamlessly and effectively perform across standard fiber and new fibers like InPhoTech’s innovative multicore fiber,” – said Jan Peters, VP Business Development Infinera.
InPhoTech Group's seven-core fibre received, among other things, a Phase 2 SME Instrument under Horizon 2020 (No. 880054), a prestigious grant awarded by the European Commission to the best European innovation projects.
Achieving a maximum throughput of 296.8 Tb/s is the result of multiplying 800Gb/s by 53 channels by 7 cores, as the Infinera device allows the placement of 53 channels of 800 Gb/s each in a single seven-core IPT Fiber, in C-band alone.
