Telstra has completed trials of its planned backhaul upgrade, achieving two transmission records in tests conducted with Nortel.
The Australian operator will upgrade parts of its backhaul network to 40Gbps next year, and 100Gbps in the future.
Using Nortel optical technology, Telstra said it transmitted at 100Gbps over a record 2,038 kilometers between Adelaide and Sydney without the need to refresh. The companies also transmitted at 40Gbps over 3,370 kilometers on part of a loop between the cities.
The 10Gbps link between Melbourne and Sydney - a distance of around 710 kilometers - currently uses 13 regenerators which cost up to A$300,000 ($252,000) each, the Australiansaid. This link will be the first to be upgraded, and should be transmitting at 40Gbps by next June.
The trial used prototype DWDM technology that will not be commercially available until 2010.
Telstra said the upgrade was necessary to cope with a tenfold increase in traffic on national inter-capital routes.
“Carriers the world over are looking for the next generation of transmission technology because customer bandwidth needs are quickly surpassing current limits,” Telstra networks and services group managing director Michael Rocca said.