Network Performance Assessment with Uniform and Non-Uniform Nodes Distribution in C+L Upgrades vs. Fiber Doubling SDM Solutions

Both spatial-division multiplexing (SDM) and band-division multiplexing (BDM) have been proposed to increase the traffic allocation in transparent optical networks. If available, SDM may take advantage of the already deployed dark fibers, otherwise BDM is a viable and cost-efficient solution by exploiting multiple bands on the deployed fibers just upgrading the required equipment. We assess the network capacity upgrades enabled by C+L BDM and fiber doubling SDM solutions as realistic upgrade scenario from a C-band only case, using the statistical network assessment process (SNAP). SNAP has been applied to the German, the US-NET and the COST networks by generating any-to-any traffic according to both an uniform or population-based joint probability density function. We show that both SDM and BDM upgrades double the network capacity, making the performances of the two solutions comparable.