Telco providers in Italy are making big moves when it comes to leading the way towards exceptional innovation throughout the country and thus, Europe. Some of the largest telco giants in Italy, including TIM and Fastweb, have achieved great success in enhancing IT connectivity capabilities.
TIM, one of Italy’s largest telecommunications providers, has announced its submarine fibre-optic cables have been used for the first time in the country to detect seismic events. The fibre connection between the island Vulcano and Milazzo in Sicily has enabled the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and the German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam to monitor the seismic activity of volcanic events in real time.
The submarine fibre-optic cables of TIM can be used by research and science thanks to the experiments conducted by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) Potsdam to monitor seismic events related to active volcanism.
The experiment, unique in Italy, was carried out in the Sicilian waters for around one month using the section of submarine optical fibre linking the TIM power station on Vulcano, one of the Aeolian Islands, to Milazzo in northern Sicily, which stretches over a distance of around 50 km on the seabed.
Using optical fibre as a seismic sensor makes it possible to record signals with high spatial (around 4 metres) and temporal resolution (1 kHz).
The DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) device installed at the power station sends pulses of light into the fibre and records the backscattered signal influenced by dynamic strain variations. By analysing this, it is possible to derive the movement of the earth remotely via the Internet.
During the experiment, around 20 Terabytes of data were continuously acquired, which are now being studied by scientists to understand the processes responsible for the reawakening of volcanic activity on the island. Right from the first analyses, it was apparent that the new technology used has proven to have excellent signal accuracy and sensitivity of seismic signals, making it possible to observe the dynamic strain variations created by anthropogenic and natural sources, with clear strain variations on the fibre generated by local seismic events.
This important initiative paves the way for possible areas of application where the TIM Group’s fibre-optic, land and underwater infrastructures can be used in the scientific field to develop next-generation sensor solutions thanks to the expertise of leading international research bodies, such as the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and the German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam.
Another of Italy’s leading telco providers, Fastweb, based in Milan, and Infinera, have successfully achieved record-breaking 600 Gb/s transmission speed trial on the Milan-Bari Network.
The companies announced the record-breaking single-wavelength service connectivity speed trial of 600 Gb/s across Fastweb’s network, including the Milan-Bari optical route spanning 1,372 km, using Infinera’s fifth-generation ICE6 800G technology on the GX Series Compact Modular Platform. The programmable flexibility of Infinera’s ICE6 solution enabled Fastweb to increase network capacity by up to two times. This seamless network upgrade ensures Fastweb’s enterprise and service provider customers are equipped with reliable, ultra-high-speed capacity to meet increased growth in data traffic and bandwidth demands.
The demonstrated industry-leading performance, which will provide substantial network value, played a significant role in Fastweb’s selection of Infinera’s ICE6 solution to enhance its backbone network. With Infinera’s ICE6 800G solution, Fastweb is poised to increase its network capacity and launch new 400 Gigabit Ethernet services across its existing infrastructure. Infinera’s ICE6 solution features probabilistic constellation shaping and digital Nyquist subcarrier technology with dual-carrier super-channels, enabling successful transmission of 1.2 Tb/s signals on the Milan-Bari route. The combination of these technologies improves Fastweb’s spectral efficiency and boosts existing capacity on its current Infinera flexible-grid backbone network.
Infinera’s ICE6 technology allows Fastweb to find the right balance between maximum transmission speeds and the greatest capacity per fibre, with the same end-of-life performance, protecting Fastweb’s infrastructure investments for years to come.
“Sustaining the Digital Transformation efforts of enterprises and meeting our customers’ needs is our primary objective,” said Marco Arioli, Technology Officer, Fastweb. “We are constantly looking to improve our infrastructure to ensure we can always provide our customers with the highest bandwidth and best-quality services they need to be successful. ICE6 is a significant step forward for us, substantially increasing the capacity of our network with a smooth upgrade path and enabling us to keep up with the relentless demand for increased capacity of unpredictable bandwidth-hungry events.”
“Infinera’s ICE6 solution enables network operators to meet the demands of rapid bandwidth growth by providing the greatest capacity at the greatest reach, resulting in the most cost-effective and spectrally efficient solution,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Infinera. “We are pleased to continue to support Fastweb’s upgrade of its network infrastructure to meet today’s growing bandwidth demands.”
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