MCI Inc. teamed with Xtera Communications, Mintera Corp., and Juniper Networks to successfully transmit 40 Gigabits per second (Gbps) over 3,040 km of field fiber in MCI's Dallas metro area network. This milestone demonstrates that next generation technology is now available to support high-bandwidth IP traffic demands over Ultra Long Haul (ULH) distances on existing fiber infrastructure while maintaining reliable performance standards.

"MCI continues to lead the industry in technology innovation and the delivery of next generation IP services," said Jack Wimmer, MCI vice president of Network Architecture and Advanced Technology. "As we execute on our IP convergence strategy, and as customer applications drive bandwidth onto our network, 40 Gbps transmission becomes an increasingly important technology to enable efficient scaling of our network."

The technology field trial, which was conducted in October and November, carried 74 channels of 10 Gbps traffic and 2 channels of 40 Gbps traffic over 38 individual 80 km spans of standard single mode fiber around the Dallas metro area using the Xtera all-Raman DWDM system, Mintera advanced modulation format long reach OC768 transponders, and Juniper Networks T640 IP routers with OC768 short reach interfaces.

Using patented all-Raman technologies, Xtera's Nu-Wave Multi-Reach DWDM platform supports 40 Gbps transmission with unprecedented reach, extremely high bandwidth, and extensive Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (OADM) flexibility to deliver high-quality video, data and advanced voice services.

This all-Raman amplifier allows the optical signal to be carried a greater distance with three times the capacity of most traditional Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFA). As a result, an all-Raman approach can translate into lower network costs, increased reliability, reduced infrastructure builds, simplified channel engineering and streamlined capacity planning.

Mintera's MI 40000 optical transport equipment enables carriers to deploy 40 Gbps wavelengths without traffic interruption on infrastructures designed for, and simultaneously, carrying lower bit-rate signals. A variety of modulation formats, including DPSK, are employed to permit this boost in bandwidth efficiency to be implemented without adding regeneration sites, thus significantly lowering overall network costs.

Juniper Networks OC768c router interface enables carriers to increase the efficiency and capacity of IP networks to better support bandwidth-intensive applications and services. The Juniper Networks T-series routing platform offers a combination of advanced routing features, IP/MPLS capabilities, reliability and scale to support high-capacity core applications. In combination with the JUNOS software feature set, the T-series provides the flexibility and scale to help meet growing bandwidth capacity requirements.

MCI originally demonstrated high-capacity Internet technology in May 2004 when the company successfully transmitted the world's first 40 Gbps IP traffic using MCI optical network fiber between San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. That was followed weeks later with MCI extending the reach of 40 Gbps wavelengths to 1,200 km, using the company's ULH backbone network between Sacramento, Calif., and Salt Lake City.