ANAHEIM--Executives at Level 3 Communications often ponder the migration beyond 10 Gb/s links in its network, but they’re not sure if 40 Gb/s or 100 Gb/s is the best next step, according to Robert Feuerstein, Level 3 senior architect.

“We’re constantly evaluating 40 gig, 100 gig,” Feuerstein said during a panel discussion at the Optical Fiber Communications conference this week. “I suspect that 100 gig is going to be the more economical next step.”

Having cautioned listeners that his opinions were his own and not representative of Level 3, Feuerstein reasoned that 100 Gb/s technology might enjoy a higher volume of demand than 40 Gb/s, giving 100 Gb/s gear more economy of scale. Thousands of data centers already contain 100-Gb/s Ethernet interfaces, he said, while “an extremely small number of customers” ask about 40-Gb/s links.

Earlier this week, Verizon Business announced plans to upgrade parts of its ultralong-haul network to 40 Gb/s this year and begin trialing 100-Gb/s links in 18 months.