Bluegrass Network, a central Kentucky-based telco, is deploying a new 800 Gbps network to meet local growing bandwidth demands.
Leveraging Ciena’s coherent optical solution, Bluegrass Network’s 800G upgrade will enable it to meet two goals: increase its middle-mile presence and drive more bandwidth to surrounding communities to meet growing demand.
The service provider will use Ciena’s network platforms, including its WaveLogic 5 Extreme and 6500 ROADM. It will also leverage the vendor’s Navigator Network Control Suite for network management and Ciena Service to enable network deployment and turn-up.
Bluegrass will increase its capacity to 33.6 Tbps to modernize its optical network.
Formed in the 1990s to interconnect five local telephone companies, Bluegrass’s fiber-optic network ring now spans more than 400 miles, providing essential connectivity to factories, banks, medical facilities, cellular companies, and government offices in the region—as well as national hubs in Chicago and Atlanta.
As one of the first service providers in the region to deploy 800G wavelengths on every route, Bluegrass can offer Ethernet services ranging from 10 Mbps to 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GE).
Formed in the 1990s to interconnect five local telephone companies, Bluegrass’s fiber-optic network ring now spans more than 400 miles, providing essential connectivity to factories, banks, medical facilities, cellular companies, and government offices in the region—as well as national hubs in Chicago and Atlanta.
“Our goal was to create a ‘connectivity superhighway’ throughout central Kentucky,” said Doug Updegraff, President and General Manager of Bluegrass Network.
He added, “The new network enables our rural telephone companies to provide their member companies and residents with the highest speeds and reliability, contributing to a better quality of life for remote work, telemedicine, entertainment—anything related to today’s digital lifestyle.”
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Sean Buckley
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