Digital transmission through optical fibres and 'packet-switching' are two independent technologies that have gained wide acceptance during the past decade. This paper considers the possibility of a fusion between the two technologies. The network envisaged is a long-haul, packet-switched network, with optical fibre links between the nodes, for the integrated transmission of voice and data. The advantages of implementing packet-switching on an optical fibre network are brought out. The proposed network effectively utilizes the bandwidth of 140 Mbit/s fibre optic links to transport voice and data packets in a store-and-forward manner from the source node to the destination node. The issues involved in the selection of routes for voice and data packets are discussed.

Date Published: 1 January 1987
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 0841, Fiber Optic Networks and Coherent Technology in Fiber Optic Systems II, (1 January 1987); doi: 10.1117/12.967579

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0841:
Fiber Optic Networks and Coherent Technology in Fiber Optic Systems II
John D. Chipman; Harish R. Sunak, Editor(s)