Abstract :
Today´s networks mirror their electric telegraph and telephone forebears with working practices, building/facility locations dictated by a copper past. Many of the latest optical networks still utilise old planning and design rules, but TONs offer new opportunities to break the legacy with direct links between countries, islands, cities, towns and villages. They also offer future proof solutions devoid of `bandwidth blocking´ electronics, and very often, do not require optical amplification. The attendant energy demands and reliability risks associated with electronic transmission and switching are also displaced by `optical only signals´ of a hybrid (analogue-digital) form. The operational opportunities and economic gains of TONs combined with non-linear optics cannot be overstressed as they eclipse anything and everything that has gone before.
Keywords :
amplification; design; optical burst switching; optical fibre networks; telecommunication network planning; telecommunication network reliability; telegraphy; TON; clear sighted transparency; design rules; electric telegraph; electronic transmission; energy demands; optical amplification; optical networks; planning; reliability risks; switching; telephone forebears; Bandwidth; Biomedical optical imaging; Fiber nonlinear optics; Optical fibers; Optical switches;
