Patent ID: 6895184
Filing Date: 2005-05-17
Classification: H04B,H04J

Abstract:
1. A method of transmitting optical signal traffic, comprising: providing an all optical network with at least two rings that are geographically dispersed, each ring including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver; separating the available wavelengths into distinct ring bands; sharing the optical signal traffic throughout the entire optical network; providing each ring with its own distinct ring band of the optical signal traffic, wherein all of the optical signal traffic is transmittable throughout the optical network and each receiver is configured to receive only wavelengths in a ring band designated for its associated ring; and providing each receiver with a hierarchical mechanism to separate received light at different signal wavelengths within a designated ring band into a plurality of separate optical signals each having a plurality of signal channels and to filter each separate optical signal to extract a selected signal channel.