Quantification of wavelength contention in photonic networks with reach variation

Intelligent optical networks that are currently coming to fruition today are taking advantage of many new technologies. Intelligent network control planes, fully tunable resources including filters and transmitters, increased-reach lasers and powerful optical amplifiers are all part of the arsenal. As networks evolve, transparency of wavelengths is paramount, and concerns over wavelength blocking issues arise. Using intelligent algorithms and careful resource planning and assignment reveals wavelength contention results in a 2-3% network cost. This cost is outweighed greatly by other operational and capital benefits offered by these new types of networks.