Page 180 - Optical Switching And Networking Handbook

08_200023_CH07/Batesx 1/17/01 8:19 AM Page 165

Optical Networking and Switching Vendors 165

standards for signal generation. Using SONET/SDH standards, tele-
phone companies gradually expanded capacity by increasing data
rates to 2.488 to 10 Gbps.

Applications for DWDM

As with any new technology, the potential applications for DWDM
are in their infancy. Many new applications will emerge that can take
advantage of the capacities and capabilities of DWDM.Already it has
proven to be particularly well suited for several vital applications.
DWDM is ready-made for long-distance companies that use point-
to-point or ring topologies. The immediate access to 16 new trans-
mission channels—replacing one—dramatically increases the
operator’s chances of success and acceptance by the user community.
This increased capacity is critical to self-healing rings, which char-
acterize today’s most sophisticated telecom networks. Deploying
DWDM enables a carrier to construct a 100 percent protected ring
using two fibers. Operators building or expanding their networks
also will find DWDM as an economical opportunity to incrementally
increase capacity. Network wholesalers can take advantage of
DWDM to lease capacity, rather than entire fibers, either to existing
operators or to new market entrants. DWDM will be especially
attractive to companies that have low-fiber-count cables that were
installed primarily for internal operations but that could now be
used to generate telecommunications revenue.

If You Cannot Build It, Buy It

With all the movement in the industry, we also have to look at the
overall structure of the industry providers. In the early stages of the
optical networks, carriers and manufacturers emerged. These
providers were poised to build on the existing technologies and
increase the capacity, drive new demand, and innovate wherever
possible. However, the market heated up so quickly that many of the
stodgy manufacturers were caught with their trunks down. They
simply did not have the capacity in their trunking systems, nor were