Ciena and Meta have collaborated to achieve a groundbreaking feat in subsea telecommunications. Their joint effort successfully transmitted 800 Gb/s over a colossal distance of 16,608 km on a transpacific submarine cable. This achievement has set a new record for single-carrier 800G wavelength transmission without the need for intermediate signal regeneration.
The experimental setup leveraged Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optical technology on the Bifrost cable system, owned by Meta. The subsea cable serves as a crucial conduit for massive data traffic between Singapore, Indonesia, The Philippines, Guam, and the Western United States. By utilizing an unregenerated link, the collaboration demonstrated the potential of state-of-the-art optical technology to bridge vast distances without compromising signal quality.
Aside from the impressive single-wavelength achievement, the trial highlighted a capacity of 18 Tb/s per fiber pair. Notably, the system maintained surplus operational margins, showcasing its resilience for real-world applications.
Importantly, as Brian Lavallée, Senior Director for Market and Competitive Intelligence at Ciena, articulated, this technological milestone transcends mere technical accomplishment. It embodies the evolving demands of AI and cloud-scale advancements, necessitating expansive, low-latency network infrastructures stretching across continents to seamlessly train and deploy AI models and related services. This innovation firmly situates entities like Meta to tackle AI-ready infrastructures spanning extensive distances.
Lavallée further emphasized the significance of such advancements in the context of spatial and energy efficiency — elements crucial for the operational efficiency of subsea landing stations. The trial’s outcome promises practical advantages where real estate and energy consumption are especially paramount.
Additionally, Lavallée acknowledged that the demand for internet capacity remains at its zenith. This surge is driven by the proliferation of AI, cloud services, and emergent technologies, harnessed through a comprehensive global network sustained by nearly 600 submarine cables.
The endeavor by Ciena and Meta showcases a vision of a highly capable and efficient future for long-distance data transmission. It not only reiterates the importance of breakthrough technologies in telecommunication but also underlines the growing requisites of modern digital infrastructure in supporting the global digital economy.
