Impact of the reach of WDM systems and traffic volume on the network resources and cost of translucent optical transport networks

The paper studies the impact of ultra long haul WDM transmission systems and traffic volume on the cost of translucent (or hybrid) optical transport networks. The cost of translucent networks is evaluated as a function of the reach of WDM systems using the prices of commercially available network elements and is compared with the cost of the corresponding opaque networks. The results show that a translucent network is approximately 50% cheaper than the opaque counterpart and a further cost reduction can be expected by extending the reach of WDM systems from 1150 km to 2500 km.