Lucent Unveils 10-Gbps Fiber

Lucent Technologies says it has developed fiber-optic cabling capable of transporting data at 10 Gbps. Called LazrSpeed, the fiber system includes multimode fiber and connectors that support 10-Gbps transmissions up to 300 meters.

Multimode fiber-optic wiring currently operates at 1 Gbps. But as more servers and switches are connected to enterprise networks at gigabit speeds, backbone systems will be required to accommodate them by operating at increasingly faster speeds.

To address this need for enterprise speed, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is working on a standard for 10-Gbps network speeds. And Lucent is developing a multiplexer that can combine eight Gigabit Ethernet data streams over a single line of fiber that previously could only carry a single Gigabit Ethernet transmission.

"This will provide companies with a more efficient use of the bandwidth available on their fiber, rather than requiring them to put in new fiber," says Ted Woodward, a member of the technical staff at Lucent in Holmdel, N.J.

Pricing and availability details for LazrSpeed are not yet available.