New Fiber-Optic Technologies
1987 - Robert Mears and colleagues at Southampton University (UK) invent the Erbium-doped fiber-optic amplifier for use in systems operating with signaling near ? = 1500 nm wavelength
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) increases capacity by adding signals at adjacent optical wavelengths and transmitting through the same glass fiber
First Intercontinental Network using Fiber-Amplifiers
- Trans-Altlantic Telephone (TAT) 12 and 13 Undersea Cable
- TAT-12/13 is self-healing ring network linking USA, UK, and France
- Began to carry traffic October, 1995
- Two fiber pairs in each cable, each pair transfers data at 5Gb/s
- Total length of ring = 14,000 km
- Fiber-optic amplifiers every 45 km