Alien wavelength

In the context of wavelength-division multiplexing, an alien wavelength is a "colored" optical signal that is originated from equipment not under the direct control of the transmission network operator. This technique was first mentioned in 2009.^[1]

Alien Wave transport involves transparent transmission of colored optical channels over preexisting third-party physical infrastructure. In other words, Alien Wave transport implies an innovative spectrum utilization arrangement between an optical infrastructure owner and a bandwidth crippled customer. The fact that multiple providers co-exist and utilize the common fiber and optical layer infrastructure turns out to be a viable and cost-effective way to scale-up network capacity through minimal capital and operational investments. A practical example of an Alien Wave implementation is one where network resources owned by one carrier are being utilized to transport optical channels that are in the control of a secondary carrier. The possibility of Alien Wave insertion without any impact to existing services has resulted in a rapid acceptance of this technology by the telecom service provider community.

Alien wavelengths enable to drive more capacity over any existing OTN/DWDM network infrastructure./p>

The increasing use and development of technologies such as 5G and automation, and growing consumption of the Internet of Things (IoT), 4K and video content have all lead to high demand for bandwidth. This poses a challenge for carriers, service providers, DCI and enterprises with scaling their existing WDM network infrastructure to meet the required transport capacity. While it is possible to plan for a sudden surge in requirement for bandwidth, it also may occur without warning, as different segments in the network may expand unpredictably and with it the need to support growing capacity and client interface speeds.

Alien wavelengths is the solution for this challenge, as it enables to drives capacity over any existing OTN/DWDM network without replacing infrastructure, and it is vendor-agnostic to third party Ethernet and Fibre Channel switch

The five must-haves of Alien Wavelengths: High Capacity, Scalable, Secured, Cost-effective, Fast Deployment