[comm] long-distance circuits

[Ruth Milner]

Excerpted from the InformationWeek online daily digest.

Ruth.
----------

** Sending Signals Record Distances Without Regenerators

The dream of infinite, high-speed bandwidth took a step closer to 
reality when a telco recently sent a 10-Gbps optical signal 6,400 
kilometers without using optical-to-electrical regenerators, 
setting a new record.

The carrier, Williams Communications Group Inc., used Corvis 
Corp.'s CorWave system, which eliminates the need to convert 
optical signals to electrical signals and back again in signal 
regenerators. The development should make it cheaper to shoot 
large amounts of data coast to coast. 

Having to regenerate signals makes long-distance circuits 
prohibitively expensive and restricts the number of optical 
channels, says Chris Nicoll, VP of Current Analysis Inc. 
Nationwide virtual-private-optical networks, 
content-distribution, wavelength-on-demand, and rich-media 
services could all benefit from this development. 
- John Rendleman