Nortel has introduced a single optical networking platform that delivers both 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps transmission. Nortel claims that it’s a first.

The company has two customers – TDC in The Netherlands and Neos Networks in the U.K. – working with its 40G/100G Adaptive Optical Engine on a trial basis. 

Given that state-of-the-art networking is considered to be 10 Gbps, the new Nortel system’s allure is its ability to expand bandwidth capacity ultimately by an order of magnitude without a major equipment upgrade.

The Adaptive Optical Engine uses a version of QPSK technology called dual polarization quadrature phase shift keying (DP-QPSK), which the company said allows 40G operation over a 10G network. Signal processing removes all compensation requirements from the network, Nortel said, along with associated capital and operational expenditures.

More Broadband Direct:

• Nielsen, Charter sign deal for STB data 

• Charter’s Allen receives informal inquiries from potential investors 

• Time Warner execs hold fire on TWC and AOL 

• Motorola puts cash into Invidi 

• TiVo connects with YouTube for videos on TV 

• Tiscali UK, PCCW deploy Harmonic encoders 

• Nortel debuts 40G/100G system 

• Broadband Briefs for 3/12/08