Patent ID: 7352973

Claim:
A method of adding a new wavelength to an optical communication network, the optical communication network comprising a transmitter node, a plurality of regenerator nodes, and a receiver node, the method comprising the steps of: installing a transmitter component in the transmitter node for the new wavelength; installing a receiver component in the receiver node for the new wavelength; and for each of the plurality of regenerator nodes in the optical communication network, determining whether a quality of optical signals for the new wavelength at the regenerator node satisfies a performance threshold responsive to receiving the optical signals over a fiber span coupled to the regenerator node; installing an optical regenerator component in the regenerator node for regenerating the optical signals for the new wavelength if the quality of the optical signals at the regenerator node satisfies the performance threshold; and installing optical-to-electrical-to-optical regenerator components in the regenerator node for regenerating the optical signals for the new wavelength if the quality of the optical signals at the regenerator node does not satisfy the performance threshold.