100 Gigabits per second: We're first! No we're first! No we're first!

Endless stream of 100Gbps claims continues

Just when you think every "100Gbps first" has been claimed, another pops into the old email inbox.

Today, just 17 minutes apart, came:

TE SUBCOM MARKS CRUCIAL MILESTONE TOWARD DELIVERING WORLD'S FIRST ULTRA-HIGH CAPACITY, 100G-BASED, NEW UNDERSEA CABLE SYSTEM

Next up:

World's first single 100 Gigabit Ethernet connection goes live at TelecityGroup Amsterdam

And earlier this month, a separate press release read: "World’s First Successful Demonstration of Multi-Vendor Equipment Interoperability in Transmitting 100 Gbps Ethernet Signals Over Optical Network Announced," courtesy of Anritsu.

Of course, there's 100G and then there's 100G (optical vs. Ethernet), and as colleague Jim Duffy notes, you need to watch out for whether 100G is really a bunch of 10Gs bundled together before you get too excited.

MORE ON 100G ETHERNET

In TE SubCom's case, they're talking about an optical link over trans-Atlantic disances and based on a prototype of the company’s new smarTEr C100 transceiver. "It is a notable step toward the delivery of the first generation of new, 100Gb/s subsea cable systems and marks the beginning of ultra-high, double-digit terabit per fiber pair deployments," the company's CEO gushed in a statement.

In the second case, a service provider called Atrato IP networks touted the "global internet landmark" it reached by hooking up via 100G Ethernet with a big data center in Amsterdam.

If you feel like you've maybe heard all this before, you probably haven't exactly since companies are careful to use the appropriate qualifers in making their claims, as evidence by the very long headlines. But it is true that companies are quick to herald just about any 100G implementation, and why not? It's darned fast.

Verizon last March called attention to itself with this press release headline: "Verizon First Service Provider to Announce 100G Deployment on U.S. Network" and Cisco, noticing Verizon's network plans were shining favorably upon Juniper, was quick to let everyone know that AT&T and Comcast would be using Cisco gear for its 100G network."

Though for our money, the most interesting 100G stories right now involve enterprise IT rollouts of the technology, including the superfast U.S. Department of Energy research network.

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