Development of 3 generations of Fiber Optics Transmission products: FD3, FD-135, & FD-565.
These products featured the world’s highest transmission rates that were commercially available at the time of their introduction.
Most Edmonton staff worked on development of these Fiber Optics products — probably 75-100 people at the peak.
The FD3 (45Mb/s) development had been essentially completed in Ottawa prior to the establishment of the Edmonton Lab. In Edmonton the design was improved: the 1:N Automatic Protection Switching capability was completed, the operating wavelength was upgraded from 850nm (multimode) to 1300nm (single mode) operation for improved repeater spacing. The system carried a single DS-3 signal, equivalent to 672 conventional voice channels or one suitably encoded NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) video signal as well as overhead bits dedicated to Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OA&M) signals + orderwire.
In 1984, SaskTel made telecommunications history by completing the construction of the world’s longest commercial fiber optics network, based initially on Nortels FD3 equipment:
- The system was referred to as the Broadband Network (BBN)
- Scale: The provincial system spanned 3,268km.
- Scope: It initially linked 52 of Saskatchewan’s largest communities.
- Timeline: Construction began in late 1980, with the first official link (between Regina and Yorkton) operational by January 1982.
- Consequences: The success of this project put the province on the map as an optical technology pioneer. Because international telecommunication firms began requesting technical support to build their own systems, SaskTel, a Crown corporation, established a dedicated global consulting subsidiary, SaskTel International, in 1986.
The FD-135 (135Mb/s) product development was launched in Edmonton and essentially completed there. As well as Bell Canada, the lead account was Bell South, headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The FD-135 utilized a proprietary, asynchronous transmission format operating at 139 Mb/s. It was developed and widely deployed prior to the finalization and commercial introduction of the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) standard in the late 1980s. The system carried three standard DS-3 signal, each equivalent to 672 conventional voice channels or one suitably encoded NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) video signal as well as overhead bits dedicated to Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OA&M) + orderwire.
The FD-565 (565Mb/s) was also launched in Edmonton, but the product develpment was completed in Ottawa after the Edmonton Lab closed. Its primary purpose was to aggregate and transport 12 standard DS-3 signals over a single fiber pair, achieving a proprietary transmission rate of approximately 565 Mb/s carrying 12 DS-3 signals as well as overhead bits dedicated to Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OA&M) + orderwire.
To ensure compatability between products, the overhead framing format of the line signal was designed in conjunction with the parallel development of microwave radio products in Ottawa. The FD-565 was designed and deployed just prior to the advent of the synchronous optical network (SONET) standards.
Comparison of Fiber Optic Systems developed in BNR Edmonton
| System | FD3 | FD-135 | FD-565 |
| Line Rate | 47.8Mb/s (1 DS-3 & overhead) | 139.3Mb/s (3 DS-3 & overhead) | 565.0Mb/s (12 DS-3 & overhead) |
| Fiber Type | Multimode | Single-mode | Single-mode |
| Operating Wavelength | 850nm | 1310nm | 1310nm & 1550nm |
| Repeater Spacing | ~10km | 30 – 40km | 35 – 70km (wavelength dependent) |
Vantage 12 Electronic Key System Software Development.
Vantage 12 was a mid-sized model configured for up to 12 extension stations. Other Vantage models included: Vantage-8, -24, -48, and -48C. Total Edmonton staff assigned to this program was probably less than a dozen.
Outside Plant.
Facilities included a small outside plant testbed with spooled fiber and a limited amount of cabled fiber, fiber splicing equipment and related equipment. Total staff probably around a half dozen. Programs were largely funded by Bell Canada.
Information Technology (IT) Support.
Responsible for the installing, maintaining, securing, and troubleshooting the site’s mainframe, workstations and related computing machinery. This team comprised a dedicated staff of three or four.
Administrative Support
There were probably about a dozen clerical people including a full-time receptionist, secretaries and office support staff. There was one on-site HR person. Security and a cafeteria person were contracted.
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