Telxius deploys 800G optics across its international transport network
Telxius and Nokia are deploying 800G coherent pluggables across European and American terrestrial routes to add capacity with lower space and energy demand.
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Global infrastructure operator Telxius and Nokia have begun deploying 800G coherent pluggable optics across terrestrial transport routes in Europe, the United States, and Latin America. The project is intended to increase capacity between network hubs and data centres without a proportional increase in rack space and power demand.
Why pluggable optics change an upgrade
A coherent pluggable is installed directly in a compatible router or transport platform. An IP-over-DWDM design can reduce intermediate systems and signal conversions compared with a separate transponder layer.
That does not mean every route automatically carries 800 Gbit/s. Available line rate depends on distance, fibre quality, amplifiers, spectrum planning, and the required signal margin. Difficult spans may use a lower mode to preserve reliability.
Connecting terrestrial and subsea infrastructure
The deployment follows a trial on the BRUSA subsea cable system. The companies reported 400 Gbit/s per wavelength over more than 5,600 kilometres. The 800G modules are now planned for terrestrial sections connecting cable landing points, points of presence, and data centres.
Customers should gain more usable capacity from existing infrastructure and a simpler service turn-up process. The space and energy benefits are supplier claims for the project; the measured result will depend on each route’s configuration.
What to measure during the upgrade
- usable capacity after FEC and protection overhead;
- signal margin and error rate over long spans;
- energy consumed per transported terabit;
- service turn-up and failure-recovery time;
- interoperability between optics, routers, and management systems;
- the ability to restore the previous design if a route degrades.
The project illustrates how cloud and inter-data-centre traffic are changing backbone networks: operators increasingly add capacity with compact coherent optics and software control over existing fibre routes.
Source: Nokia’s official announcement dated 15 September 2026.
Primary source: Nokia: Telxius deploys 800G coherent optics
