eAccess Ltd., a Tokyo-based broadband data communications company, has tapped Ciena Corp. (Linthicum, MD) for optical switching equipment that eAccess will use in a metropolitan ring-based network between Osaka and Tokyo, Japan.
The carrier will use Ciena's MetroDirector K2 along a SONET ring in Tokyo, and along 10-Gbit/sec sub-rings connecting Tokyo to Osaka. The system is a next-generation multi-service access and switching platform designed for service providers seeking increased availability of usable, cost-effective bandwidth. eAccess expects deployment of the MetroDirector K2 will continue through March 2003. The initial order from eAccess is for more than 100 MetroDirector K2 units.
eAccess provides ADSL service through 473 NTT local telephone exchanges in eight regions, including Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, and others. The company aims to expand the geographic coverage of its ADSL services, construct a dedicated IP backbone using dark fiber, develop a range of value-added services (VoIP service and content distribution service), and promote fiber-to-the-home services.
"This deal is particularly meaningful for us because it is the first large-scale deployment of our MetroDirector K2 metro switching product," said Gary Smith, president and chief executive officer of Ciena.