Infinera and Sumitomo Electric Demonstrate Revolutionary Point-to-Multipoint Optical Transmission Technology

The new technology could help network operators keep up with 5G, high-speed broadband growth, cloud-based services, and data center interconnectivity.

Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), a pioneer of advanced optical networking solutions, announced it has successfully completed the industry’s first testing of point-to-multipoint coherent pluggable transceiver technology in Japan in collaboration with Sumitomo Electric. The testing showcased multiple optical transmission demonstrations and the role that XR optics technology can play in helping network operators in Japan cost-effectively keep pace with relentless bandwidth growth driven by 5G, high-speed broadband, cloud-based services, and data center interconnect.

XR optics is the industry’s first coherent optical solution that can solve the challenges caused by the misalignment between network traffic patterns and the technology used to transport that traffic at the optical layer. Benefits include a significant reduction in total cost of ownership (up to and in some cases more than 70%), dramatic network simplification, and an unprecedented level of network flexibility. As members of the industry’s Open XR Forum, Infinera and Sumitomo Electric are collaborating to accelerate adoption of intelligent coherent point-to-multipoint network architectures and drive standardization of networking interfaces to ensure ease of multi-vendor interoperability and an open, multi-source solution ecosystem.

Conducted in Infinera’s Tokyo lab facilities and showcased for Japan’s leading network operators, the XR optics point-to-multipoint integration testing was implemented over an existing PON network using Infinera ICE-X 100G and 400G coherent pluggables transceivers hosted in the Sumitomo Electric FTU 9100 metro/access aggregation switch. The test showcased how XR optics can increase capacity and reach by orders of magnitude by overlaying coherent wavelengths over existing single-fiber (bidirectional) PON networks.

The testing included demonstrations of the following: high-speed business services over existing single-fiber PON infrastructure, simplified network aggregation for emerging services and applications such as 5G and edge computing, and efficient point-to-multipoint metro traffic transmission over existing optical line systems. These demonstrations underscore the value XR optics bring to service providers to cost-efficiently increase capacity and expand service offerings.

“This industry-first testing in Japan reinforces Infinera’s dedication to innovation and our commitment to solving our customers’ toughest challenges, especially as bandwidth growth at the network edge drives demand for new approaches to metro and access transport architectures,” said Naosuke Akiyama, Japan Country Manager, Infinera. “We are excited to partner with Sumitomo Electric to showcase a wide variety of cost- and power-efficient pluggable optical solutions with unique levels of intelligence, automation, and programmability.”

“We have taken a big step toward optical network innovation by collaborating with Infinera on its XR optics technology, which enables point-to-multipoint network topology,” said Kazutaka Kawamoto, General Manager, Information Network R & D Center, Sumitomo Electric. “We look forward to this partnership leading to successes from the access to the core of the network for service providers.”

Source: Infinera media announcement