Patent ID: 7565083

Claim:
A method of mitigating distortion in an optical network route, wherein the optical network route includes a plurality of fiber spans of a first type and a fiber span of a second type, wherein the second type of fiber span has a distortion wavelength region, wherein the optical network route is transporting optical signals having a plurality of original wavelengths wherein at least one, and fewer than all, of the original wavelengths is in the distortion wavelength region of the second type of fiber span, the method comprising the steps of: maintaining those of the plurality of original wavelengths not in the distortion wavelength region of the second type of fiber span at the original wavelengths for the optical signals entering the second type of fiber span; shifting the at least one original wavelength in the distortion wavelength region of the second type of fiber span to at least one temporary wavelength outside of the distortion wavelength region for the optical signals entering the second type of fiber span, wherein the at least one temporary wavelength is longer than each of the plurality of original wavelengths or shorter than each of the plurality of original wavelengths; and shifting the at least one temporary wavelength outside of the distortion wavelength region back to the at least one original wavelength for the optical signals exiting the second type of fiber span.