As part of a nationwide upgrade to its network infrastructure to support 100-Gbps wavelengths, XO Communications has confirmed earlier reports that it will use Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) 6500 Packet Optical Platforms to provide 100-Gbps capabilities in its metro and regional links.
The announcement follows the news that XO Communications has begun to deploy hiT7300 systems from Nokia Siemens Networks for its nationwide long-haul backbone network. At the time, XO Senior Vice President and CTO Randy Niklas revealed that the service provider also was certifying equipment from Ciena and Cisco for 100-Gbps metro/regional applications (see “XO Communications chooses Nokia Siemens Networks for nationwide 100G network”), particularly data center interconnect and other business- and wholesale-related services. No announcement on XO’s potential deployment of Cisco equipment (which could conceivably include 100-Gbps interfaces on the company’s routers) has yet appeared.
In addition to the data rate upgrade, Ciena points to the 6500 Packet Optical Platforms’ OTN switching features and XO’s future use of the Ciena’s OneConnect Intelligent Control Plane software for automated provisioning, management, and mesh restoration as important enhancements to the carrier’s infrastructure.
“Our 6500 Packet Optical Platform and WaveLogic coherent optical technology, part of our OPn programmable network architecture, provides XO Communications with significant bandwidth scalability, reliability, and intelligence — critical building blocks for delivering competitive network services that ensure long-term customer satisfaction,” asserted Francois Locoh-Donou, senior vice president, Global Products Group at Ciena, via a press release. “Additionally, the ability to quickly and cost-effectively roll out new services will help the company to strengthen its leadership position, attract new business, and further differentiate itself in the highly competitive metro and regional services marketplace.”
XO is already offering services over the enhanced network infrastructure in New York City, and plans to further deploy new capabilities across its metro/regional routes over the next 12 months, according to Ciena.
“Ciena’s coherent optical technology with integrated OTN switching gives us the ability to cost-effectively deliver a wide range of custom services and applications to our varied customer base with speed, flexibility, and assurance, as well as the ability to go after new markets. This intelligent, programmable solution also gives us the tools to easily scale our network to meet customer requirements for capacity and speed for many years to come,” Nicklas was quoted as saying in the same press release.
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