Legacy-Agnostic Band Integration Approach: A Cost-Effective and Seamless C+l-Band Optical Network Migration

This paper addresses the escalating demand for enhanced data transmission rates and increased network capacity in elastic optical networks. We propose a novel legacy-agnostic band integration approach for cost-effective and seamless C+L-band optical network migration, focusing on a “pay-as-you-grow” (PaYG) strategy to optimize capital expenditure (CAPEX). This approach leverages advanced modeling techniques, including the enhanced generalized Gaussian noise (EGGN) model, to account for inter-channel stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) and other nonlinear effects, ensuring optimal quality of transmission (QoT). Through extensive simulations on real-world network topologies, we compare the performance of various PaYG algorithms against a traditional Day-One (DO) approach, demonstrating significant gains in throughput and CAPEX efficiency. Notably, the proposed PaYG-WAR (PaYG-With All Reconfigurations) outperforms other strategies, maximizing throughput while minimizing the deployment of costly infrastructure components. Our results provide valuable insights for telecom operators seeking a financially viable and practical solution for migrating optical networks to C+L-band operation. Specifically, PaYG-WAR achieves 20% higher throughput compared to DO and PaYG-WoR (PaYG-Without Reconfigurations) and 17% more than PaYG-WFR (PaYG-With Full Reconfigurations), while requiring 25% less CAPEX than DO-CHB (DO-Channel Based). These findings underscore the potential of PaYG-WAR in facilitating efficient, cost-effective network upgrades to meet next-generation communication demands.