Apollo and Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN), the undersea cables subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), have successfully demonstrated a capacity of 8 terabits-per-second (Tbit/s) of data per fiber pair – equivalent to approximately 1.25 million HDTV channels simultaneously streamed –  on the Apollo South system, which connects France to the United States.

For the demonstration ASN used its current generation 1620 Light Manager submarine line terminal, equipped with the latest 100 gigabit-per-second (Gbit/s) technology and made use of innovative detection techniques and advanced error correction coding. In combination with proprietary modulation and pulse shaping schemes, this commercially available solution counteracts the signal distortions and noise that impact high speed, long-distance transmission performance.

This capacity demonstration was made possible by implementing smart spectral engineering which includes a fully flexible WDM grid and multiple modulation schemes tuning the optical transmission in order to match each channel format to line performance. This spectral engineering capability will be further extended with next-generation technology offered by the 1620 SOFTNODE, enabling an increase in the ultimate capacity per fiber pair of more than 10%. Additionally, with the next step evolution of error correction coding and pulse shaping schemes, more than 10Tbit/s per fiber pair can be unlocked.

Richard Elliott, Managing Director of Apollo said: “This new demonstration further proves the technological lead of the Apollo system in offering capacity increases. The achievable capacity of 8Tbit/s per fiber pair has confirmed once again our expectation; that Apollo could carry around four times the current entire Atlantic traffic in use today.”

Philippe Dumont, President of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks said: “This field trial is another proof point of the adaptability of ASN technology that continues to offer carriers a smart evolution path for tuning capacity and performance throughout the life of a system. As capacity and connectivity needs continue to increase, the high resiliency to potential degradation at higher speeds combined with the reliability of our technology offer a cost-effective and flexible networking model to cope with content providers and their end-users’ service demands.”

About Apollo
The Apollo submarine cable system consists of the two most advanced transatlantic fiber optic cables. Apollo North connects the United Kingdom and the USA and Apollo South directly connects France and the USA. Apollo has the highest capacity of any Atlantic system and an unparalleled track record of reliability. Apollo’s customers include the world’s leading telecommunications and internet companies and the range of bandwidth intensive companies taking advantage of Apollo’s first class network architecture. Apollo offers point to point 10Gbit/s and 100Gbit/s wavelengths between the major cities and carrier pops on the US Eastern seaboard and Western Europe.

About Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks
Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks leads the industry in terms of capacity and installed base with more than 575,000 km of optical submarine cables/systems deployed worldwide. From traditional telecom to new Oil & Gas applications, ASN provides every part of a global undersea transmission network, all tailored to the customer’s needs. An extensive service portfolio completes its comprehensive offering for the submarine business, including project management, installation and commissioning and marine operations and maintenance performed by its fleet of seven cable ships.