Patent ID: 9419743
Filing Date: 2016-08-16
CPC Classification: H04B,H04J,H04L,H04Q

Claim Text:
1. A system that can route client signals among a plurality of nodes interconnected by one or more fiber optic cables to form an optical network, the system comprising: a subchannel mapper that can map each of a plurality of client signals to a corresponding subchannel within or across a plurality of ITU channels, wherein each ITU channel in the plurality of ITU channels has a predefined ITU frequency and a corresponding plurality of subchannels, and wherein each subchannel has an associated frequency with a predetermined offset from the predefined ITU frequency of the subchannel's corresponding ITU channel; a first network route that designates the origin of a first client signal at a first node, and a destination for the first client signal at a second node; and a tunable laser at the first node that can be set to a first subchannel frequency for which the second node has a filter to receive signals transmitted at that subchannel frequency, whereby the system can route the client signal from the first node to the second node by tuning the laser to the first subchannel frequency and mapping the client signal to the subchannel associated with that subchannel frequency.