Thirst for bandwidth drives optical comms to 40Gbit/s
The optical communications network looks set to finally move up to 40Gbit/s data rates in response to demand from residential customers for the greater bandwidth needed for new services.
“With residential customers there is a thirst and expectation for bandwidth which is really driving this move from first to second to third gear in the core network” said Peter Collingwood, v-p sales EMEA at JDSU Communications Test. “They expect 2Mbit/s and for online gaming, 10Mbit/s or 20Mbit/s. 40G is being pulled by the demand from us at home.”
Collingwood said the firm is already supplying 40Gbit/s equipment for early testing and expects to see it roll out in 12-18 months time.
“We’re seeing it re-emerge. Two to three years ago, just when things started to get ugly for the marketplace, 40Gbit/s had started and then somebody put on the handbrake” said Collingwood. “In the last 6-12 months we’ve seen renewed interest in 40Gbit/s. Usually there’s no smoke without fire and when you get requests from the Siemens, Nortels and Lucents of this world then there’s obviously a demand there.”
Collingwood joined JDSU, formerly JDS Uniphase, when it acquired test firm Acterna to strengthen and widen its expertise.
“JDSU was, fundamentally as a company, designed around optical communications” said Enzo Signore, v-p corporate marketing at JDSU. “We made a number of acquisitions to grow the company in optical communications. The company has gone through significant restructuring to reinvent itself.”
Signore said the optical market grew by 20 per cent last year and this year by 10-15 per cent. “We see sustained growth pretty much across the entire optical market.”