SilkRoad, an upstart in fiber transmission technology, recently made big claims about revolutionizing the use of fiber-optic cable.
Likening SilkRoad's technological achievements to those of Newton and Einstein, the company says it can theoretically cram up to 10 terabytes/sec of data on a single fiber strand using a single laser. The company also claims that the technology will be able to send data in both directions simultaneously over the same strand.
Its signal can travel up to 200 miles without repeaters to strengthen the signal; four times the distance capabilities of dense wave division multiplexing. DWDM is considered the most advanced fiber transmission technology.
In addition, SilkRoad claims it can send all that data using just a single color laser. This approach differs from DWDM, which uses multiple lasers of different colors to establish separate channels.
SilkRoad plans to have its first product ready during the first quarter of 1999. The product will transmit more than 30 channels in one direction over a single fiber. Two-way transmission on the same fiber strand as well as more channels per fiber will come later, the company says.
The company is privately funded, and officials claim it has plenty of offers for more cash from some of its potential carrier customers.
RELATED LINKS
Details of SilkRoad's technology
Cisco's Optical Networking white paper
