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11_200023_CH10/Bates 1/17/01 9:06 AM Page 247

The Future of Optical Networking (Where Is It All Heading?) 247

Figure 10-9
North American
data rate growth

1 Tbps
80 Gbps
40 Gbps Long Haul
100 Gbps
10 Gbps Local Access
10 Gbps 2.4 Gbps
565 Mbps Data Communication
1 Gbps
465 Mbps
Bit Rate 100 Mbps 1.5 Mbps 45 Mbps
10 Mbps
1 Mbps

100 kbps
Single Optical SIngle and Multiple
Channels Optical Channels
10 kbps
1 kbps
70 74 78 82 86 90 94 98 02 06
Year

DWDM Created the Sizzle

DWDM became the preferred architecture to derive the bandwidth
that the carriers so desperately needed. Several U.S.-based carriers
have already settled on DWDM, using OC-48 rates as their technol-
ogy of choice.With a minimum of 16 channels in DWDM and with 40
to 128 channels coming quickly, this architecture will be a critical
component of future networking standards. The actual rollout of
DWDM becomes the initial step in building a new photonic network
in three main areas:
Access

Interoffice (Metropolitan)
Interexchange (Long haul)

Understanding that the changes occurring in the industry are
escalating at a terrific pace, it becomes imperative to ensue that the
future growth can be established on the components being installed
today. The openness of the network architecture for the future will