Ciena Corporation, the network specialist, has announced two major wins in recent weeks, one relating to the Japan-US Cable Network where it will provide its 100 G technology and the other a contract with Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for whom it will deploy  high-capacity metropolitan networks in two key Asian commercial centres, Hong-Kong and Singapore.

The Japan-US Cable Network is upgrading its trans-Pacific submarine network, which spans close to 23,000 km from the US to Japan, with Ciena’s market-leading coherent 100 gigabits per second (100 G) technology.

Expected to be in service in early 2013, the upgraded network will bring five terabits per second of additional capacity to a crucial global network route connecting North America and northern Asia. As the first direct coast-to-coast 100 G trans-Pacific submarine network, this will allow Japan-US Cable customers to enjoy the benefits of increased bandwidth and support rapidly increasing capacity demands.

The Japan-US Cable is made up of more than 26 consortium members, including leading global service providers such as: Verizon Business, AT&T, BT, Sprint, CenturyLink, KDDI, NTT, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Tata Communications, SingTel, Softbank Telecom, France Telecom, Level (3), AboveNet, KT, Starhub, PCCW, and Telstra.

Ready for service in 2001, the Japan-US Cable Network spans close to 23,000 km and includes two landing stations in California, one in Hawaii, and three in Japan. To provide the 100 G service, Ciena’s 6500 Packet Optical platform with WageLogic 3 coherent optical processors will replace existing 10 G optical equipment at each landing station.

WaveLogic 3 optimises the Japan-US submarine cable network to achieve capacity and reduced latency over trans-Pacific submarine distances while improving the overall economics of the network.

CWW CONTRACT
Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, equipped with WaveLogic Coherent Optical Processors and supporting coherent 100 G and mesh networking, provides Cable & Wireless Worldwide with a highly flexible and resilient commercial solution that meets the integrated communications and data hosting services deployment timelines.

The rapid migration to 100 G with Ciena’s 6500 platform allows CWW to extract more capacity out of existing fibre optic cables, facilitating the transport of today’s increasingly bandwidth-hungry applications while improving network economics.

The live metro networks are based on mesh architecture, allowing CWW to offer its customers superior network resiliency and service flexibility, and meet service level agreement (SLA) requirements. It also ensures that the CWW network can scale to meet future capacity demands across the region.

Ciena deployed an expert engineering and consultative approach throughout the project, working closely with the carrier to develop a deployment strategy for the key regional networks and meet the timelines required to support CWW’s growing presence and competitive position in Asia.

The project included planning for services supported by CWW’s current metro ring architectures, which are based on Ciena’s 4200 Advanced Services Platform, ensuring a smooth upgrade to 100 G and seamless transition for existing customers as the carrier continues its move toward its next-generation mesh networks.