Trends in optical transport networks and related technologies

There is a broad consensus on the vision that future transport network architecture will be dominated by optical in combination with packet. This implies a complete reassignment of the functions traditionally handled by legacy intermediate layers to packet and optical layers only. Here current advances in photonics technologies and architectures enable the optical layer to become the ideal companion of the packet world and to unlock an effective packet offload towards flexible and dynamic optical pipes. A global, cross-layer, optimization is needed to minimize the misalignment between costs and revenues and to manage the rising tide of IP traffic. The progresses in optical technology are now making possible the realization of multi-terabit transmission systems that can make possible the realization of big optical pipes. Regarding the access area, optical networking is penetrating more and more the radio access domain, and in many cases leads to optical-centric networks, which could represent the best solution in terms of costs and performance, fulfilling the requirements of future mobile systems generations. The paper reviews these technology trends and highlights the most significant achievements reached in Ericsson Research labs in the different areas.