KPN takes 400G test drive with Huawei

KPN (NYSE: KPN) is dipping its toes into the 400G waters as the telco completes a pan-European trial with Huawei Technologies.

During the trial, the service provider demonstrated the use of bidirectional optical transport network (OTN)-based 400G network spans 540 km between Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Dusseldorf, Germany.

To conduct the trial, the service provider used the same pan-European WDM backbone network that it initially deployed with Huawei in 2008 and was updated to coherent 100G technology in 2011.  

What's interesting about the trial is that it was conducted on one of KPN's "busiest" network links, an exercise it said confirmed results it saw in previous lab trials. Going forward, the service provider plans to continue testing with onboard DSP functionality.

KPN's move illustrates a growing trend in the telecom industry where service providers are implementing coherent optical technology to lay the groundwork for both 100G and future 400G networks. Besides KPN, other U.S.-based service providers including Sprint (NYSE: S) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) have put in place network equipment to enable similar core and metro network transitions.

For more:
- see the release

Special report: In detail: Following the Packet Optical Transport Systems (P-OTS) evolution

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