With the development of technology, a new type of pluggable optical transceiver, BiDi fiber optic transceiver, has been developed, combining transmit and receive functions on a single fiber (single-mode or multi-mode). The following figure shows the difference between ordinary optical transceivers and BiDi optical transceivers. How do BiDi transceivers achieve optical channel transmission over fibers that propagate simultaneously in both directions? What are the main advantages of BiDi transceivers on the market? The following three aspects will be explained and explained in detail:

Save fiber resources and costs
Since BiDi optical devices can transmit and receive optical signals through a single fiber, the biggest benefit of BiDi transceivers is the saving of fiber resources, which is of great value in areas without redundant fiber resources. The reduction in fiber usage naturally saves the cost of cabling infrastructure. Compared with traditional double-strand fiber bidirectional optics, BiDi transceivers use half the amount of fiber per unit transmission distance.

Facilitate the construction of communication facilities
Second, BiDi optics are convenient for construction in certain scenarios. For example, in the construction scenario of building a 4G RRU (Remote Radio Unit) site on the basis of the previous 3G RRU site, since the previous 3G site used dual optical fibers between the RRU and the BBU (Building Baseband Unit), if a BiDi transceiver is deployed , the double-strand fiber resources can be fully utilized. One fiber was used for the previous 3G transmission link and the other was used for the new 4G transmission. Therefore, BiDi transceivers can rapidly increase the capacity of network links and shorten the construction period.

Easy to manage
In addition to saving fiber resources, 40G Bidi Transceiver also reduce the number of ports on fiber patch cord panels and reduce the space occupied by trays dedicated to fiber management. In addition, BiDi optical transceivers are also easier to maintain and repair in the event of an unexpected fiber link interruption, because BiDi fiber is cut in half compared to traditional dual-strand fiber links.

Although BiDi fiber optic transceivers are priced higher than standard optical modules, they are more valuable in practical applications. With the presence of BiDi fiber optic transceivers, the cost of fiber optic infrastructure will decrease while network capacity will increase. But keep in mind that bidirectional transceivers are usually deployed in pairs to get the job done most efficiently because it transmits using two different wavelengths.