Windstream Wholesale completed two pivotal route enhancement projects using FLEX DWDM (FLEX) technology, bolstering connectivity across Virginia.
The service provider said these enhancements are part of a broader initiative to upgrade capacity across Windstream’s Nationwide Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON).
This FLEX upgrade extends across Windstream’s ICON network from Ashburn through Richmond, Virginia, and into the Virginia Beach cable landing station (CLS). Leveraging Ciena’s 6500 Reconfigurable Line System (RLS), FLEX technology has been integrated across the extended route to meet their growing connectivity needs.
The route segment from Ashburn to Richmond is a vital connection between crucial data centers. At the same time, the extension from Richmond to the Virginia Beach subsea CLS opens new avenues for international connectivity.
One key element that Windstream Wholesale uses to differentiate itself from other providers is its network management and monitoring capabilities.
Windstream Wholesale’s FLEX/ICON upgrades and expansions enable 400G wave service, Managed Spectrum service, and more excellent network health and performance visibility with technologies like inline optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) engineered into the route. Inline OTDR reduces mean time to repair (MTTR) in the event of a network interference or fiber cut, providing the ability to locate the interference without physically deploying resources.
In addition, FLEX provides cost benefits, enabling the direct connection of critical data centers to core long-haul network nodes and eliminating the need to bookend equipment to jump between long-haul and regional networks.
Windstream’s Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON) provides open and disaggregated networking infrastructure, enabling wholesale and enterprise technology customers to select unique custom routes and maintain operational insights with Windstream’s Network Intelligence functions.
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Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.