Anritsu Corporation introduces Coherent OTDR*1 MW90010B for fault detection in underwater cables. The MW90010B can measure distances up to 20,000 km and has an easily selectable wavelength that covers the entire C-band*2. It is more portable and has 40% less weight with the same product size as the previous model. Anritsu helps customers improve the quality of underwater cable communications and continues to support test solutions to meet market needs.
Background of the development
The volume of communication traffic is increasing due to the spread of 5G mobile and cloud services. In addition, the worldwide submarine cable network provides most of the data transmission and is expected to expand due to future technological innovations.
Currently, large IT vendors are not only investing in new installation projects, but are increasingly installing landing stations*3 and cables to directly synchronize their data centers with high speed and low latency. As a result, underwater cable networks are becoming more complex, and ensuring the quality of their installation and maintenance is also becoming increasingly important. To meet this market demand, Anritsu is improving the test solution.
Product Description
The MW90010B coherent reflectometer uses a coherent (optical heterodyne) detection method and has an integrated light source with adjustable wavelength. Its wavelength selection function facilitates the measurement of all cable lines from each landing station and helps to ensure the quality of the underwater cables.
Key functions
Fault detection in underwater cables up to 20,000 km long;
Supports fault detection at a distance of up to 12,000 km with repeaters installed at intervals of 80 km or more;
The MW90010B-003 option increases the detection range to 20,000 km;
Wider wavelength range (from 1527.60 to 1567.13 nm, ITU-T 50 GHz grid pitch);
Covers all measurements in the C-band;
Built-in tunable light source with accuracy up to a wavelength of ±0.05 nm;
Reduced weight for better portability;
Weight less than 10 kg and compact size for easy carrying (40% weight savings at the same size as the previous model);
Easy to carry at landing stations, ships for laying underwater cables and other maintenance facilities.
Technical terms
*1 Coherent Reflectometer: The OTDR reflectometer (optical Time Domain reflectometer) uses a coherent (optical heterodyne) detection method. It is ideal for measuring the characteristics of optical fibers in underwater cables with optical repeater amplifiers.
*2 C-band: shortened from the normal range; the wavelength range with the least fiber loss. It is used for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) used in underwater cables.
*3 Landing station: A special facility for bringing underwater cables to land and functioning as a relay point of the terrestrial network.
