Patent ID: 7840139

Claim:
A method for compensating for dispersion in an optical transport system that includes a segment having first, second and third fiber spans, the method comprising: determining a first dispersion compensation value for a first dispersion compensator coupled between the first and second fiber spans, wherein the first dispersion compensation value is based on dispersion exhibited by the first fiber span; determining a second dispersion compensation value for a second dispersion compensator coupled between the second and third fiber spans, wherein the second dispersion value is based on dispersion exhibited by the second fiber span; determining a third dispersion compensation value for a third dispersion compensator coupled to the third fiber span, wherein the third dispersion compensation value is based on dispersion exhibited by the third fiber span; determining a fourth dispersion compensation value for a fourth dispersion compensator coupled to the first fiber span, wherein the fourth dispersion compensation value is based on a sum of the first and second dispersion compensation values and a sum of the dispersion exhibited by the first, second and third fiber spans; and employing the first, second, third, and fourth dispersion compensators in the optical transport system, wherein the determined first, second, third and fourth dispersion compensation values are used to compensate for dispersion exhibited by the segment.