I am curious how much of a performance gap exists between new long haul fiber and fiber laid during the Great Boom from 1998-2001. We are very close to 20 years.
I assume there are two dimensions, namely bit carrying capacity of an individual wave and total bandwidth capacity of a fiber pair. I have been told and readily believe that fiber improvements do make a difference. But I have no sense of magnitudes. My impression is that the 1998-2001 fiber probably cannot handle above 100 gig waves and about 14 terabits per fiber pair at least on Trans-Atlantic cables. - R. www.crosslakefibre.ca<http://www.crosslakefibre.ca> www.unitedcablecompany.com<http://www.s>
