Verizon outline 100 Gbps, ROADM build-out

Verizon Business acknowledged that it plans to build 100 Gbps technology into its major network routes in the first quarter of 2009. Though the carrier was the first U.S. telco to test 100 Gbps in a native network environment, and has discussed the steps to 100 Gbps in general terms, the timing of the announcement and the build-out may come as a surprise to some.

The standard for 100 Gbps may not be ready until sometime next year at the earliest, and possibly 2010. Some carriers, however, have noted the prices for 40 Gbps gear remain high and that 100 Gbps is a more logical transition from 10 Gbps. Verizon also said it will deploy reconfigurable add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) as part of an 18-market optical mesh architecture in the U.S. by the first quarter next year.

Though other aspects of their businesses are beginning to show some softness, the explosive growth of online video and other content and the related demand for bandwidth is giving carriers the confidence to move toward higher-capacity networks now.

For more:
- read this story about the 100-Gig plan at Network World
- check out this story about the mesh plan at Telephony

Related article:
- Just a week ago, some carriers seemed less anxious about jumping to 100 Gbps pre-standard