a method and system for equalizing q performance of a wideband , raman - amplified optical communication system are disclosed . wideband , raman - amplifed systems suffer significant performance degradation from nonlinear effects in shorter wavelength channels . absent compensation , the shorter wavelength channels limit system performance and restrict the amount of launch power that can be employed for the optical data signals in each wave division multiplexed channel . careful design that employs increased channel spacing in the nonlinear region of the bandwidth can offset the increased nonlinear effects , thereby improving the worst channel &# 39 ; s q performance and permitting high launch power without unacceptable q performance .