At the most recent TIA 42.11 Subcommittee meeting, Dave Mazzarese of OFS proposed defining a new, next-generation multimode optical fiber. This new fiber would facilitate the use of low-cost, coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) equipment on multimode fiber. The proposed fiber would not only provide up to four times the information carrying capacity of current OM4 fiber, but also offer the potential for even higher capacity solutions in the future, while maintaining the backward compatibility to current 850 nm based systems.
This new fiber would continue to maintain the low system cost advantage that multimode fiber links have over single-mode fiber systems. The wide-band fiber is expected to initially support four wavelengths at speeds up to 28 Gb/s, providing 100+ Gb/s fiber capacity. This capability would significantly reduce the amount of fiber required to carry 400 Gb/s signals, the next-generation Ethernet speed.
Dave notes that defining a new fiber has the support of key players in the industry, including Avago, CommScope, Finisar and Panduit.
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) products, and currently represents nearly 400 companies. Within TIA, the 42.11 Subcommittee helps develop and maintain voluntary standards for optical fiber used in telecommunications cabling infrastructure in premises.