RACE project 1036-WTDM broadband CPN

RACE Project 1036 has developed a Broadband Customer Premises Network to the point where a test bed could be demonstrated whose performance was representative of what could be achieved by production components. The network uses wavelength and time division multiplexing (WTDM) to give a total capacity on a single bearer of over 38 Gbit/s. Features include close wavelength spacing (4 nm), high-speed time multiplexing (2.48 Gbit/s), and a layered control protocol. The WTDM system is based on a network of local routeing centres each serving a number of sources and destinations. Combining both wavelength and time-division multiplexing in this way extends network capacities considerably, without stretching either technique beyond what can be demonstrated in a practical system within RACE timescales