Optical Transport Networks, Optical Containers, And Granular Layer 1 ODUflex Protocol
Optical wavelengths are composed of fundamental building blocks known as containers. The industry has recognized that current wavelength transmission rates are too chunky. There are limited number of sizes with many customers struggling to justify the leap from 100G to the relatively new 400G standard. On the supplier side the limited size of wavelengths can lead to stranded spectrum. For example, you might have enough spectrum for 5G or 150G or 650G. In all these cases the stranded capacity represents lost revenue in a cut throat, ferociously competitive wholesale market. The ODUflex standard was introduced in part to create wavelengths below the 2.5G level. The fundamental ODU building block is a 1.25Gbps transmission rate. ODU means optical data unit. But let's assume you divide each second into time slots for 80 ODU units per second. Well, that is a 100G transmission rate. Want a 150G wavelength? Interweave 120 ODUs. So now Layer 1 granularity becomes a reality. One customer a...