Jerry,
Thanks for the input . I read an article on Computerworld's website that may be of some interest:
MCI to Quadruple Capacity of Its Backbone Network
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Bob Wallace
05/03/96
In an effort to cut network congestion and lay the foundation for high-speed multimedia services, MCI Communications Corp. has embarked on a program to quadruple the capacity of its backbone network.
According to documents obtained by Computerworld, MCI has begun a far-reaching switching equipment upgrade that will let the carrier boost capacity from 2.5G bit/sec. to 10G bit/sec. without the expense of laying additional fiber.
The technology was developed by MCI and Optical Corporation of America (OCA) in Marlboro, Mass. OCA is providing MCI with the special multiplexing equipment needed for the upgrade.
The new technology is called Four-Wavelength Wave Division Multiplexing. It allows a single fiber to accommodate four light signals instead of one by beaming them at separate wavelengths, according to the documents. It will be implemented in the third quarter this year on a network route between Washington and Richmond, Va. Other routes will follow.
As the project is rolled out along major traffic corridors, MCI will be able to offer users more wide-area bandwidth at lower rates, introduce new high-capacity services and provide additional emergency backup capacity.
"What this means to us is that we can get the bandwidth we need to transmit high-quality voice, data and video programming," said Peter Pollack, vice president of new technologies at cable kingpin Showtime Networks, Inc. in New York. "Bandwidth availability is a critical issue because networks have developed choke points, so it's great to see this type of project."
Analysts agreed. "The carriers are facing capacity problems -- not networkwide, but on key routes between major cities like New York and Chicago and New York and Boston," said Christine Heckart, director of broadband consulting at TeleChoice, Inc., a consultancy in Verona, N.J. "Long term, this could result -- through competition -- in lower cost for users."
The project will also give MCI, which has been installing self-healing fiber rings around major cities, the extra capacity it needs to handle major network outages. "The rings aren't any good if there's nowhere for the traffic to be sent," Heckart said.
The upgrade should also go a long way toward solving capacity problems that MCI has encountered in trying to satisfy the exploding need for high-speed Internet access. MCI and UUnet Technologies, Inc. recently announced plans to offer users faster Internet access, but MCI found it couldn't keep up with soaring demand and had to turn away users.
I am not well enough versed in IAS's digital wave modulation to make an educated analysis, however, at first glance this sounds like a similar technology that will be fighting for the same market.
Mark |
