Monash solution boosts fibre capacity
22 Oct 2009
Techniques that enable copper wires to boost capacity to provide such services as ADSL broadband are being applied to optical fibre by researchers at Monash University.
The technology, known as Orthoganal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (oOFDM), has the potential to dramatically increase broadband capacity, transmission speeds and download times around the world.
“oOFDM offers a means of dramatically increasing long-haul capacity from the current transmission rate of 10 Gigabits per second (Gps) per wave to more than 100Gps per wave over new and existing optical fibre,” Professor Arthur Lowery, who developed the technique in cooperation with Dr Jean Armstrong, said.
“The technology allows the approach to Shannon’s limit for optical communication because the spectrum is very well controlled allowing you to pack many channels close together.”
Devised in 2005, the oOFDM technology has now been granted a $250,000 cash investment from the Victorian Government through its Trans Tasman Commercialisation Fund, enabling the creation of a new company, Ofidium Pty Ltd, which will seek to commercialise it around the world.
“The research shows that Monash University is working with the industry,” Professor Lowery said.
“We are trying to be more like the American model with academics moving in and out of industry so it allow for balance between university research and practical outcomes.”
Professor Lowery said the technology would help users and enterprises around the world make better and more efficient use of existing optical fibre broadband networks, while enabling those networks to meet the capacity needed to fulfil the explosion of broadband-enabled applications emerging in all areas of business and society.
"More and more people are accessing broadband internet and using it for data-heavy activities such as video," he said.
"This poses a major challenge to the existing optical fibre infrastructure unless the capacity or band width on existing fibres can be augmented."
Melbourne was also this year chosen for the establishment of a $50 million Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society, for the research of advanced broadband application for the coming National Broadband Network (NBN).
Learn more about telecommunications and broadband solutions at CeBIT’s Communications Expo.
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