Employing Ciena's (NYSE:CIEN) WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) and flexible grid technology, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) recently conducted a long-distance 600 Gbps single wavelength fiber pilot deployment, which carried live commercial traffic across more than 800 km between core peering locations in Newark, NJ, and Pittsburgh. To test the full capabilities of the technology, Comcast also looped back the signal and verified operation of 600 Gbps across 1,600 km.
The deployment of WL5e on the link between Newark and Pittsburgh is the first in Ciena's Waveserver 5 form factor. Waveserver 5 is designed to leverage WaveLogic 5 coherent technology to scale up to 12.8 Tbps in a 2RU footprint. The WL5e deployment is intended to facilitate the evolution to 400G-interface routers and universal 400GbE transport across any location in the Comcast National Backbone network without regeneration.
"As the largest fixed-broadband provider in the U.S., we know the way people consume media and data, in general, is changing, and we're committed to continue and support the increased customer demand with increased capacity across our network. This recent achievement allows us to benefit from Ciena's continued innovation in its coherent optical technology, optimizing both our network architecture as well as our overall cost per bit," said Noam Raffaelli, senior vice president, Network and Communications Engineering, Comcast.
"This remarkable achievement is another demonstration of how our industry-leading technology continues to break boundaries and push the limit of what today's networks can do. With WaveLogic 5 Extreme, the industry's first 800G solution which includes support for universal 400GbE transport, Comcast can increase its network capacity with greater efficiency to stay ahead of the curve and continue delivering leading innovations in connectivity and entertainment," said Scott McFeely, senior vice president, Global Products and Services, Ciena.
In other Comcast news, the company is expanding its network to the town of East Lyme, CT, including the villages of Niantic and Flanders. Available residential services are slated to include the X1 video platform, gigabit Internet, smart home, mobile and voice. Business services up to 100 Gbps are also planned.
"We are excited to be part of the East Lyme community and look forward to offering Xfinity and Comcast Business products and service to its residents and businesses," said Dennis Mathew, senior vice president of Comcast's Western New England Region, which includes Connecticut. "Like our expansion into the town of Waterford and the city of New London, East Lyme offers an attractive opportunity for us to bring our network to a community that neighbors a market we already serve and where consumers and businesses have long expressed a desire to receive our products and services."