The performance of 980 nm and 1480 nm pumped erbium-doped fiber amplif
iers applicable to high bit rate, long-haul soliton transmission syste
ms is compared. Depending upon the system parameters and preferred pum
ping configuration, 980 nm pumping is likely to offer a noise figure a
dvantage of between 1.0 and 1.5 dB. However, the tolerances on pump wa
velength are significantly tighter around 980 nm than at 1480 nm.