KT employs Ciena’s 6500 ROADM for its 600G South Korean transmission route

The project is designed to address the rapidly increasing data traffic related to AI, cloud, and 5G and to prepare for future services such as 6G.

KT, working in collaboration with Ciena, has completed the build-out of South Korea’s first nationwide 600G transmission network. The service provider built this network route to take a proactive approach to upcoming network demands created with the growth of AI, cloud, 5G, and upcoming 6G wireless networks. 

Operational since September 2023, the transmission network spans over 1,000 km. It can transmit 600G per wavelength in long-distance segments, connecting significant cities nationwide from Seoul to Busan, Gwangju, and even Jeju Island.

Leveraging Ciena’s 6500 flexible grid Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) photonic layer with WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optics and Manage Control and Plans (MCP) domain controller, the transmission route provides a foundation to handle rapidly increasing bandwidth needs.

“The 600G transmission network introduced by KT is expected to provide a groundbreaking, cost-effective solution for transmitting high-capacity traffic throughout South Korea,” said Henry Kim, regional managing director of Ciena North Asia. “This, in turn, is anticipated to enhance dedicated circuit services significantly.”

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About the Author

Sean Buckley

Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategy of Lightwave across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products.

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