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Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM)

PDA Engineering's Wave Division Multiplexing can consolidate a rat's nest of cables down to just one tidy cable while simultaneously increasing overall capacity.

Traditional copper cables are point-to-point, meaning in order to add equipment or capacity, additional cables will also need to be installed. As the cable number increases, so does the complexity, installation effort, testing, weight, space taken, and time and materials. ​

In many military or other harsh and highly regulated environments, the ever-increasing number of cables and the issues that come with them can be detrimental to performance.

The Problem

The Solution

PDA Engineering's Wave Division Multiplexing allows all of the different signals that traditionally required a separate copper cable for each type (data, video, comms) to be carried on a single fiber optic cable.

WDM puts multiple signals on the same fiber but keeps them separate by modulating them on different frequencies, similar to how radio stations each use a separate frequency but are all on the same airwave band. 

The capacity of WDM can be calculated by assuming 72 conductors per cable, four bands per conductor, 96 ITU channels per band, and 50 Gbits of data per channel. That equals 1,382,400 Gbit on a single fiber cable. And because WDM is not point-to-point, additional cables are not necessary for adding capacity and equipment.

The WDM is currently implemented on airborne military platforms, but the technology can be useful in any situation that currently uses point-to-point cables, including: 

  • Television and other media formats

  • Home

  • Corporate

  • Government/law enforcement

Applications

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We look forward to discussing your needs.

Contact Us

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