Scientists at Lucent's world famous Bell Labs are claiming that
companies that have invested in fibre optic networks and cabling
will be able to dramatically expand their capacity without
investing in a new backbone.
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Horst Stormer said, "We have only
used a fraction of the potential bandwidth available from fibre
optics, maybe a 100th of the theoretical capacity."
Dr Robert Martin, chief technical officer of Bell Labs, added,
"We've seen a doubling of available bandwidth over fibre almost
every 18 month. We're still at the beginning of the potential for
optical systems."
This means that companies which have invested fibre optics, will in
future be able to concentrate upgrade spending on the switches and
routers and the ends of a backbone, rather than on new fibre.
According to statistics from the Building Services Research and
Information Association, 74% of business networks deploy fibre at
some point within their infrastructure, predominately within the
backbone. However, fibre to the desktop still represents less the
1% of the market.
According to Horst, plastic could provide a viable method of
reducing the cost of fibre optics. "Within our Labs, we have
already tested fibre optical cables and lasers build from plastics,
which could reach market within the next five years," he
said.
Horst believes that these technologies will offer lower-cost
solutions for small businesses or provide a last-mile access
solution for consumer markets.
Martin agreed, but added, "We have to remember that cost of digging
up roads and running pipes is far more expensive than the cost
optical cable and equipment. However, in the long term we need to
look to fibre as copper is reaching its limits and will ultimately
oxidise where as fibre is unaffected by the aging process."
Will Garside