Kuidukanavat

Kuidukanavat is a Finnish term used in telecommunications to describe the individual light-based channels transmitted over a fiber optic link. A kuidukanava carries data as a modulated optical signal within a fiber, and multiple kuidukanavat can be transmitted on the same fiber by using different wavelengths (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) or time-division multiplexing. The word derives from kuitu meaning fiber and kanavat meaning channels, and the concept is equivalent to optical channels in fiber-optic communications, central to achieving high capacity in modern networks.

Technologies and implementations: In wavelength-division multiplexing, many kuidukanavat are carried by a single fiber, each occupying a distinct wavelength, or lambda. Dense WDM (DWDM) and Coarse WDM (CWDM) differ in channel spacing and total capacity. System components include multiplexers/demultiplexers, optical amplifiers, dispersion compensation, and stable wavelength control. Typical data rates per channel range from 10 Gbit/s to 100 Gbit/s and beyond, with modern deployments reaching 400 Gbit/s or faster per channel.

Applications and context: Kuidukanavat enable scalable bandwidth in metropolitan, long-haul, and data-center networks, supporting services such as Internet backbones, enterprise links, and cloud connectivity. Advantages include high capacity, low latency, and electrical isolation, while challenges include cost, complexity of optical components, and dispersion management. The term is used in Finnish telecom literature alongside English terms such as optical channel or lambda channel, reflecting the same concept in WDM networks.