ZTE has collaborated with China Mobile to activate the world's first ultra-long-haul optical backbone link based on 400G Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) technology.
During a recent conference, China Mobile unveiled its first self-developed 400G all-optical inter-provincial backbone network link, connecting Beijing to Inner Mongolia.
The Need for Computational Capabilities
The development of the network contributes to China's ‘New Infrastructure’ policy, addressing the increased need for computational capabilities fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT, Sora, and Vision Pro.
China Mobile has maintained its position as an industry leader by addressing challenges such as the developments in 400G technology, resulting in the development of state-of-the-art network infrastructure.
In March 2023, ZTE has played an essential role in the successful deployment of the inaugural 400G QPSK live trial link, achieving a transmission distance of 5,616km across a terrestrial cable.
The partnership also launched services including ‘east-data-west-computing,’ utilizing the world's first 400G QPSK ultra-long-haul optical backbone link, establishing the foundations for the large-scale commercial use of 400G QPSK technology.
Enhancing the Inter-Provincial Backbone Network Link
ZTE's technologies, such as 400G QPSK, C6T+L6T band expansion, 100T+ platform, and OXC, were used in the construction of the 400G OTN inter-provincial backbone network. This solution significantly increases transmission bandwidth by four times, reduces latency inter-hubs to less than 20ms, decreases the latency of main active links by 20%, and reduces energy consumption per bit by 65%.
Furthermore, it has the capability to accommodate up to 640,000 channels of AR virtual shooting 'east-data-west-rendering' simultaneously, which is four times greater than the capacity of the 100G backbone network. This ensures seamless real-time user experiences for ‘east-data-west-rendering’ services.
ZTE is committed to facilitating the seamless execution of China Mobile's initial 400G OTN inter-provincial backbone network initiative, aiming to support China Mobile in constructing the largest 400G all-optical backbone network worldwide.
The network is set to be fully operational by mid-year, with the goal of enabling high-speed interconnection among all eight major hubs of China's "east-data-west-computing" project.
