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Showing posts with the label fibre optic networks

Is Mombasa 100G Metro Wave Pricing Sustainable Long Term?

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Probably not. Right now carriers are charging $7K to $9K per month for a 100G wave linking IColo1 and IColo2. This is the pricing of a cozy oligopoly, not a competitive market. Moreover, the carriers have inflated their costs by using brand name hardware when comparable products like Smart Optics offer 50% to 60% discounts on both the price tag and operating expenses (there is good Layer 1 networking gear with no recurring costs in the form of port activation fees or licensing). I can refer you to a smart optics VAR. In contrast, you can lease today recently manufactured dark fibre pairs between IColo 1 and IColo 2 for $1,100 per month for the 18 kilometer primary path and $1,400 for the 23 kilometer backup path. So for $2,500 a month on a 3 year contract you can get a fully diverse fibre ring between these two important data centers. Moreover, it is unlikely you need long range optics. Each fibre pair can do 10 to 20 terabits.

Nigeria: 5,000 Fiber Cuts First Half of 2026

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And I have the solution to your Lagos metro network nightmare. Competitively priced and protected 100G waves using a unique right of way largely immune from civil and private construction harm.

European Terrestrial Fibre Upgrade Tsunami: G.657a Dethrones G.652.d

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During most of my telecom career terrestrial long haul fibre was synonymous with the ITU's G652 standard. This is single mode optical fibre that has zero chromatic dispersion at the 1310 nanometer wavelength and good wavelength performance in the 1260 to 1625 nanometer range. This include the O, E, S and workhorse C bands. G.652d fibre quickly became the de facto standard for long haul terrestrial fibre optic networks. The G.652 standard was introduced in 1984. Its motivation was a dual purpose optical fibre suitable for data centers and long haul. Most optical equipment for internal data center traffic transmitted in the O band, which ranges from 1260 to 1390 nanometers. But long haul traffic faces significant attenuation as distances grow. This required repeaters, another source of capex and opex expense. It was already known that attenuation or the diminishing of light's intensity was minimized in glass at 1550 nanometers. The versatility of the G.652 standard made it hugel...