Newly deployed system enables significantly more data to travel through current infrastructure
China launched the world’s inaugural three-band optical fibre communication system at the start of this month, a development its creators say could boost the capacity of future AI networks.
The project team reports that a single fibre can handle over five times the traffic of standard systems, with transmission capacity per core increasing by nearly 50 percent.
The 35-kilometer (21.7-mile) route links major computing hubs in the city and functions as a commercial testing ground for next-generation optical networking technologies, as detailed in a June 3 report from Shanghai Securities News.
This newly deployed system simultaneously utilizes three transmission windows—the S-band, C-band, and L-band—within a standard optical fibre, enabling significantly more data to pass through existing infrastructure. A China Mobile statement likened the approach to turning "a two-lane motorway into a three-lane highway" without constructing a completely new road.
Globally, most long-haul fibre systems primarily rely on the C-band and, to a growing extent, the L-band for commercial transmission. Technical hurdles related to signal amplification, noise management, and transmission stability have previously limited the use of other parts of the optical spectrum.
According to the team, the system operates by merging two innovations. It extends ultra-low-loss transmission capabilities into the S-band—a segment of the light spectrum previously too unstable and noisy for regular commercial use—while integrating them with multi-core fibre technology.