Comcast has announced what is believed to be the first-ever end-to-end deployment of advanced “hollowcore” fibre optics in the world by an Internet provider.
Hollowcore fibre delivers lower latency that can speed transaction rate by around 47% compared to traditional fibre. It’s achieved by sending laser light through air-filled channels rather than the traditional solid glass core.
“Hollowcore fiber is a leap forward in how we deliver ultra-fast, ultra-low latency and ultra-reliable services to customers,” said Elad Nafshi, EVP & Chief Network Officer at Comcast Cable. “As we continue to develop and deploy technology to deliver 10G, multigigabit performance to tens of millions of homes, hollowcore fiber will help to ensure that the network powering those experiences is among the most advanced and highest performing in the world.”
Comcast connected two locations in Philadelphia, which enables network engineers to continue to test and observe the performance and physical compatibility of hollowcore fibre in a real-world deployment.
Comcast successfully tested bidirectional transmission (upstream and downstream traffic traveling on a single fibre), used coherent and direct-detect systems (allowing for forward and backward technology compatibility), and produced traffic rates ranging from 10 Gbps to 400 Gbps all simultaneously on a single strand of hollowcore fibre.
Comcast worked on the project with hollowcore fibre cable solutions provider, Lumenisity.
The operator is now exploring opportunities to deploy hollowcore fibre in select core- and access-network deployments.
