The TPC-5 Cable Network

The TPC-5 Cable Network (TPC-5 CN) will be the first self-healing trans-Pacific ring network. It consists of a ring of undersea cables connecting six network nodes at six cable landing sites. The TPC-5 CN brings together a unique blend of technology to achieve the architectural robustness and transmission performance needed by network users. Among the technologies used in the TPC-5 CN are erbium doped fiber optical amplifiers (EDFAs), 5 Gb/s line terminating equipment (LTE), line monitoring equipment (LME), synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) STM-16 add/drop multiplexers (ADMs) with four-fiber-ring automatic protection switching capability, and network management equipment (NME). The article describes the operation of each of these technology and how this equipment is collectively integrated to achieve the performance and functionality of the TPC-5 CN.