Alcatel debuts new core DWDM gear

Alcatel has announced an addition to its core dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) portfolio that the company said offers increased capacity and greater range than previously introduced products.

The new 1626 Light Manager provides up to 192 wavelengths at 10 Gb/s with a transmission range of 4500 km (using Raman amplification). All 192 channels are in the C band, spaced at 25 GHz.

Alcatel’s previous core DWDM product, the 1640, which vice president of market positioning Tom Fuerst described as a “flagship product,” supported only 80 10-Gb/s channels over a range of 1400 km. The vendor’s first-generation product, the 1686, introduced in the mid 1990s, supports 32 10-Gb/s channels over a range of less than 700 km.

Alcatel will introduce the 1626 in two phases: First, starting in the first quarter of 2004, Alcatel will use the 1626 technology to upgrade the range, capacity and density of its older siblings in the field, the 1686 and the 1640. For example, using extender shelves from the 1626, Fuerst said, Alcatel can extend the range of the 1686 from 1,400 km to 2100 km. (Fuerst said Alcatel has actually been submitting the technology for commercial bids for at least six months now.) Such upgrades may allow some carriers to remove regenerators, thereby saving money.

Then, in the second half of 2004, the new product will be generally available on a standalone basis targeted toward Greenfield buildouts. But Fuerst doesn’t anticipate a market in 2004 for the fully amplified 4,500-km range the 1626 can manage.