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CONTENTS FOREWORD
F BRESYSTEMS Contents
Issue 15 • Spring 2017 5
11 14
16 20 25
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News
Keysight Technologies to acquire Ixia l Colt plans European bandwidth assault l Source Photonics invests in next- generation FTTx products l Full speed ahead for FTTH as subscribers pass 44 million
Technology Focus
‘BICSEL’ holds promise for faster computing and telecom links l Transceiver noise limits optical system capacity l Fine-tuning network design can save wavelength resources
Opinion: Fibre versus wireless
‘Fibre versus wireless’ is an increasingly ridiculous stance to take, argues Pauline Rigby
Feature: Battle of the modulation schemes
Adam Carter and Dan Tauber examine which modulation schemes – DMT, PAM4 or coherent – are likely to prevail in higher speed but for more cost-sensitive optical links
Feature: How telecom can combat climate change
BT, Telefonica, and Telia Carrier describe how the communications industry is reducing carbon emissions, even as data consumption escalates
Feature: Software-defined networking
Jonathan Homa examines the benefits of taking a more holistic view of network optimisation
Show Preview: OFC 2017
A look ahead to what’s on show at the Optical Fiber Communications conference and exhibition in Los Angeles on 19 – 23 March
Product Update A round-up of recent new product announcements
25 20 11
Foreword Cost-per-bit crunch
showing revenue per bit collapsing under the internet pricing model essentially providing unlimited data, while the cost per bit declines in a more leisurely fashion. I’ve seen a selection of such charts before, but 2017 will be the year the crossover occurs, according to veteran industry analyst and president of CIMI Corp Tom Nolle. Te crossover point can’t be the whole story; if
T
it was then nobody in the communication industry would be making any money, and that’s clearly not the case. Nevertheless, Nolle believes cost pressures will trigger spending cuts that will be passed on through the supply chain. ‘With operators facing this kind of cost-revenue convergence, the first and easiest answer is to spend less on infrastructure,’ he wrote on his blog. Declining revenues per bit explains why
operators are keen on network transformation initiatives, and soſtware-defined networking (SDN) in particular. SDN and the related concept of network functions virtualisation (NFV) promise to help operators optimise networks, by making more efficient use of resources, reducing network downtime and enabling service agility. On page 25 Jonathan Homa examines the benefits that can be realised when SDN is used to integrate the worlds of IP and optical. As traffic carried on data centre interconnect
Cover: Bukhavets Mikhail/
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and other regional networks multiplies, enterprise and cloud service providers are looking for more cost-effective transmission technologies, measured by cost per bit-kilometre. Coherent transceivers aren’t a perfect match for these more cost-sensitive links. On page 16, Oclaro’s Adam Carter and Dan Tauber weigh the options for lower-cost alternatives. On page 20 Andy Extance considers another
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aspect of business that affects cost per bit – the cost of energy used to transport those bits. In recent years, operators like BT, Telefonica and Telia Carrier have kept energy consumption stable in spite of rising data traffic. It’s imperative they do, or energy and environmental costs could spiral out of control. As ever, enjoy the magazine. To make sure you never miss an issue, subscribe via our website.
Pauline Rigby Editor, Fibre Systems
pauline.rigby@europascience.com
Issue 15 • Spring 2017 FIBRE SYSTEMS 3
he cost per bit is a well-known metric in the optical industry; revenue per bit is another. Most carriers have drawn charts
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