Retegal deploys Infinera ATN for Spanish regional open access network

As part of a government-funded initiative to improve broadband services to rural areas, Spanish regional network operator Retegal has deployed ATN metro transport equipment from Infinera (Nasdaq: INFN). Infinera’s partner in Spain, Telindus, managed the deployment and will provide maintenance of the fiber-optic network.

Retegal used part of the 32 million Euros ($46 million) the Spanish Government has set aside to spur broadband network development in underserved areas of the country. The ATN gear will find use in Retegal’s home territory of Galicia in northwest Spain to help provide broadband, radio, and television services throughout the region, with further broadband service extensions on tap.

Retegal operates an “open access” wholesale network that enables private operators such as last-mile service providers. Increased broadband access will play a key role in bringing new jobs and services to the region. The Galician regional government has invested more than 81 million Euros ($117 million) in the regional broadband program, while total public and private investment in Retegal is more than 221 million Euros ($320 million). Retegal plans to extend the network to more than 1,800 km of total network reach by the end of this year.

Infinera introduced the ATN multiservice metro platform in 2009 (see “Infinera debuts ATN metro platform”). The product is unusual in that it doesn’t leverage the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology for which Infinera is well known. According to Paul Morkel, senior director of product marketing at Infinera, Retegal will be the first user of ATN Release 2.0, which includes such new capabilities as multiservice aggregation to 10-Gbps wavelengths and fully automated optical power management.

“The Infinera solution enables our network to respond to customer demands with a network architecture that provides all the requirements for enabling next generation services,” commented Jose Angel Abeal, Managing Director of Retegal.