160-Gb/s optical networking: a prospective techno-economical analysis

This paper reports on a network dimensioning analysis of N /spl times/ 160-Gb/s wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) networks based on the optical time-division-multiplexing (OTDM) technique. The need for different transmission and networking functions based on innovative circuit-switched scenarios for optical core networks is quantified, and the economical interest of such high-wavelength channel bit rates in the chosen scenarios is evaluated.