Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has used Nokia’s PSE-3 chipset with Probabilistic Constellation Shaping (PCS) technology to conduct the Middle East and Africa's first 200G long-haul transmission and 300G regional reach field trial.

The companies claim that once deployed, end users will experience superior network performance, and STC will be able to better manage the surge in video, cloud and 5G traffic.

According to a statement released, STC trialled Nokia’s PSE-3 towards enhancing the efficiency of its Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) long-haul network to reduce complexity and provide better services to its subscribers.

The statement reads: “The PSE-3 is capable of helping STC increase bandwidth efficiency on its long-haul network by exploiting 200G channels between Riyadh and Jeddah via diverse routes. Similarly, 300G channels were demonstrated on a regional network between Khobar and Riyadh. This approach allows operators to provide a superior network experience while raising the available bandwidth per user. Nokia services ensured the seamless and timely execution of the trial with STC.”

Nokia’s PSE-3 is the first coherent digital signal processor to implement PCS, a technology pioneered by Nokia Bell Labs that helps extract the maximum capacity theoretically possible over an optical channel.

The company says PSE-3 “helps provide unprecedented spectral efficiency, maximises the performance and capacity of every link in the optical network, and enables 400G for metro distances. It leads to much improved network performance and significantly brings down operational complexity.”

Khaled Ibrahim Aldharrab, VP of infrastructure, STC, said: "We are committed to providing a world-class end user experience that aligns with the Saudi administration’s Vision 2030. This successful field trial will help us optimise our network resources and reduce our operational expenses.”

Carlo Corti, Director of Optics Business Development, Middle East and Africa, Nokia, said: “This is a very significant trial and, once deployed, it will help STC maximise the performance of the optical network and simplify operations. Nokia’s PSE-3 helps service providers like STC handle the massive bandwidth demands of video, cloud and 5G, while at the same time enabling them to bring down the cost per transported bit.”