Global Caribbean Fiber upgrades Antilles Crossing via Ciena

Feb. 14, 2013
Global Caribbean Fiber (GCF) will upgrade its Antilles Crossing submarine fiber-optic network that connects St. Croix, St. Lucia and Barbados using the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform from Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN). The upgrade will leverage 40-Gbps coherent transmission capabilities as well as Ciena’s GeoMesh optical bypass technology.

Global Caribbean Fiber (GCF) will upgrade its Antilles Crossing submarine fiber-optic network that connects St. Croix, St. Lucia, and Barbados using the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform from Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN). The upgrade will leverage 40-Gbps coherent transmission capabilities as well as Ciena’s GeoMesh optical bypass technology.

GCF, jointly owned by Group Loret (60%) and Leucadia (40%), serves as parent company for several undersea fiber-optic cable systems. They include the Global Caribbean Network (GCN), Middle Caribbean Network (MCN), Southern Caribbean Fiber (SCF), and Antilles Crossing. In total, the GCF network of submarine cable systems runs approximately 3000 km and delivers 1.2 Tbps of capacity across 14 countries in the eastern Caribbean.

The Antilles Crossing submarine network represents 1100 km of the GCF network total. The upgrade program will increase the system’s capacity by 4X, which GCF will use to launch 10-Gbps Ethernet services for wholesale applications. GCF and Ciena expect the new capabilities to be operational in May 2013.

“As a leading provider of telecommunications infrastructure for the Eastern Caribbean, it is imperative that our customers have access to a scalable, reliable network with low latency that can compete anywhere in the world,” said Valéry Bijou, GCF’s COO. “Ciena’s coherent optical technology is just what we needed to ensure end-to-end network performance across the islands of St. Croix, St. Lucia, and Barbados. By leveraging Ciena’s GeoMesh coherent transport and agile optical bypass technology, we can ensure our customers have the bandwidth needed to innovate and succeed in their respective markets.”

The use of Ciena’s new GeoMesh optical bypass technology will enable GCF to add or drop select wavelengths at intermediate sites. This capability reducing latency and enables GCF to quickly react to changing traffic demands and increase network availability, Ciena asserts.

“By leveraging Ciena’s GeoMesh capabilities, GCF can re-use its fiber plant and carry four times the amount of traffic capacity than it had previously, leveraging existing assets and avoiding expensive alternatives,” according to Ed McCormack, vice president and general manager, submarine systems at Ciena. “Along with the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, to meet surging bandwidth demands, Ciena’s intelligent software will provide GCF’s customers high-speed protected, reliable, and flexible on-demand service delivery.”

The upgraded network will be managed by Ciena’s OneControl Unified Management System. Ciena also will provide professional services via Ciena Specialist Services for installation, integration, testing, and support.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyers Guide.