17 September 2012, Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”) (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment, network solutions and mobile devices, announced

at the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), that it has set a new world record in 400G high-speed transmission.

In the experiment, ZTE used its patent technology to achieve 40 DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) channels of 400Gb/s single-carrier polarization division multiplexing QPSK (PDM-QPSK) signals to successfully transmit 2800 km in standard single-mode fiber, smashing the world record of 1200 km transmission distance of single-carrier 400G.

ECOC is an important and influential high-level international academic conference in the optical communications. The conference is used to address the development of current and future application of optoelectronics and optical communications. Following the experiment, global experts from ECOC evaluated the results and presented ZTE with a certificate during a meeting on 17 September.

Single-carrier transmission has simple transmitting and receiving structures and is easy to manage therefore, it is the preferred solution to increase channel rate and system capacity. The previous record for single-carrier 400G transmission was 1200 km, in which special expensive fibers and all-optical Raman amplification technology were used.

In this experiment, ZTE used its patent technology to achieve 40 WDM channels of 400Gb/s. Single-carrier PDM-QPSK signals is a highly developed modulation scheme with the acute receiver sensitivity. The technology makes it possible to employ widely-used standard single-mode fibers and ordinary EDFAs (Erbium-doped Fiber Amplifiers ) to achieve ultra-long-distance system transmission without major modifications to the already deployed fiber infrastructure.

This experiment achieved a successful long-distance transmission of 2800 km (35 spans, 80 km per span), demonstrating the feasibility of deploying beyond 100G in the current fiber transmission system with an ultra-long haul optical reach. At the same time, the single carrier system reaches 108Gbaud, the highest symbol rate in the industry.

ZTE has long been committed to the development of 100G and 400G/1T technologies as well as R&D and the application of product solutions. Utilising its R&D of cutting-edge 100G and beyond-100G high-speed signal transmission technologies, ZTE has tackled several key technologies in this field in the recent years with successful results.

ZTE was one of the first equipment manufacturers to implement single-channel 11.2Tbit/s optical signal in the experiment and successfully created the signal to transmit 640km in standard single-mode fibers, breaking the world record of single-channel 1Tb/s transmission distance.  

ZTE has a long history in optical networking. As global communication networks entered 100G channel rate in 2010, ZTE launched the industry’s first full-range 100G bearing solutions, providing 100G products ranging from switches and routers to WDM OTN equipment and end-to-end solutions from edge layer to core layer.

In July 2011, ZTE demonstrated the world’s first 1Tb/s DWDM prototype system and its test results at the Opto-Electronics and Communications Conference (OECC). In 2012, ZTE released seven solutions of 400G/1T DWDM prototype equipment targeting various network applications. In addition, ZTE has filed a number of patents in 100G and beyond-100G, covering 100G optical modules, Framer, chip, system and other aspects of the technologies. So far, ZTE has cooperated with major operators worldwide from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific and China to complete many trial network projects in 100G and beyond. As a result, it has become the engine for the rapid development of global high-speed optical transmission technologies.