An RF over fiber system to link teleports over 100 km apart has been developed for Intelsat by ViaLite.

The system uses state-of-the-art Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) to send the bidirectional signals over a single pair of optical fibers. The system, which has been shipped to South Africa, was designed to connect two Intelsat teleports for an off-air switchover to a new satellite.

The 26 meter radio-telescope at the Hartebeeshoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Image: Martinvl (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia)

Optical multiplexing combines multiple optical signals over a single fiber at different wavelengths. The use of a high density of multiplexed signals in DWDM allows up to 96 channels per fiber, which can dramatically reduce the number of fibers required.

Intelsat has also recently placed orders for ViaLiteHD ground-segment equipment for its high performance satellite platform Epic ^NG. The equipment will be installed at the company’s mountainside ground station in Maryland, USA, and in Fuchsstadt, Germany. Intelsat ranks first in the latest Global Top Twenty listing of teleport operators compiled by the World Teleport Association.

ViaLite Product Manager Gary Wade noted that the company's expertise in DWDM technology enabled the firm to minimize noise and produce a dynamic range of greater than 50 dB despite the fiber length of 102 km.