Impact of adaptive-rate transponders and fiber attributes on the achievable capacity

We use the analytical Gaussian noise model to assess the achievable capacity over a fully transparent network with 18 nodes and 26 physical connections. By applying a network-centric approach, we show that the use of adaptive modulation in combination with ultralow loss fiber can provide an increase in the achievable capacity. The use of ultralow loss, large effective area fibers can allow for further capacity increase.