May 9, 2006 Linthicum, MD -- neuf cegetel has selected Ciena's CN 4200 FlexSelect advanced services platform for deployment across its metro and regional broadband network in France. The French provider says the platform will maximize the performance and flexibility of its existing network to support the delivery of new broadband applications to corporate and residential customers.
According to a press release, the deployment of the Ciena platform across the operator's network will commence immediately, with new broadband services to be rolled out later this year. neuf cegetel, the resulting entity of a merger between the operator and Cegetel, is an alternative operator possessing a wholly-owned national infrastructure network.
Ciena's CN 4200 platform is the flagship product of the company's FlexSelect architecture, which the company calls "a standards-based, service-oriented approach to building next-generation network infrastructures." The company says the multi-service transport and aggregation platform is capable of "on-demand support for any transport protocol - including SONET/SDH, Ethernet/GbE/10-GbE, storage, or video - at any speed on any available port" using the company's universal line card with individual user-programmable ports. The company says the platform offers the unique ability to combine different service types onto a single wavelength and add or drop them anywhere on the network for greater efficiency.
"Getting the best performance from our network is absolutely fundamental to our strategy of developing and delivering innovative broadband services to our business and consumer customers across France," comments François Paulus, general manager of neuf cegetel's network and marketing division. "In addition to minimizing capital outlay, Ciena's FlexSelect architecture also permits us to implement network enhancements, minimizing interruption to existing services - another vital consideration as broadband services become increasingly mission-critical."
The announced agreement builds on an eight-year working relationship between Cegetel and Ciena in France. Ciena's long-haul transmission platforms, including its CoreStream Agility optical transmission system, are currently deployed in the operator's network.
"In addition to expanding our involvement in modernizing neuf cegetel's next-generation broadband network, this agreement further solidifies Ciena's commitment to the European market and our ability to solve critical network challenges for customers in the region," says Eric Sèle, Ciena's managing director for southern Europe, Middle East, and Africa. "This is a great example of how our FlexSelect architecture addresses one of the principal challenges facing today's operators - how to generate the most performance and innovative, revenue-generating services from existing networks without being overwhelmed by capital and operating costs."