The evolution of the optical transport network

Traffic density growth, hunger for bandwidth and fibre congestion are just some of the main issues addressed by telecommunications operators in pursuing one of the greatest challenges they have: the development of future-proof multi-service platforms. Telecommunications manufacturers are currently fully committed to identifying advanced and reliable network solutions to support operators in paving the path towards the network of the future. The optical transport network is one of the cornerstones for the new network architectures and all-optical networking is its natural evolution. Even if the basis for this future network environment is already a reality in terms of the availability of hardware and software product, a feat hurdles are still present in this telecommunications race. Technological constraints, definition of standards, network management, performance monitoring at the optical level, network protection and survivability are the most important barriers to be overcome. Nevertheless, reliable outlooks by manufacturers give us a glimpse of consistent solutions, offering stability to operators' network enhancement plans.