Systems, apparatuses, and methods are disclosed that provide for provisioning optical systems such that information is transmitted to a destination on a wavelength allocated to carry information to that destination and at a bit rate particular to the destination. The optical system provides for high bit rate transmission over short spans of the optical system, while provisioning lower bit rates for use over longer spans of the system. In addition, the optical system can be provisioned such that wavelengths that have lower optical fiber transmission loss are allocated for transmission of information over greater distances and/or at higher transmission rates.