SureWest Broadband(www.surewest.com) will begin to offer residential customers over its FTTH network a new Internet service offering up to 50 Mbits/sec. The carrier’s data product portfolio also includes packages for speeds up to 20 and 10 Mbits/sec. Like the 10- and 20-Mbit/sec offerings, the 50-Mbit product is synchronous.
Hawaiian Telcom (www.hawaiiantel.com) will deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s (www.alcatel-lucent.com) access and IP routing equipment to replace its existing Internet infrastructure. The carrier expects the upgrade will help it deliver IPTV, advanced and interactive Internet, and premium Ethernet and IP VPN services. Alcatel-Lucent will provide Hawaiian Telcom with its modular ISAM platform-including the Alcatel 7330 ISAM FTTN and the Alcatel 7342 ISAM FTTU-as well as the 7750 Service Router (SR) and Alcatel 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) to address its service routing requirements.
Hargray Communications, an independent operating company serving residential and business customers in areas of South Carolina and Georgia, has deployed the CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform from Ciena Corp. (www.ciena.com). The deployment upgrades the carrier’s existing SONET network with multiservice, programmable DWDM transport and aggregation technology that increases its network capacity for video-on-demand, HDTV, metro Ethernet, and other high-bandwidth services.
APCON Inc. (www.apcon.com) and Calient Networks (www.calient.net) will offer an integrated offering for lab testing and automation using APCON TITAN software as a single platform for management of APCON’s OEO switches and Calient’s all-optical switches.
Luna Innovations Inc. (www.lunainnovations.com) has entered into a technology transfer and licensing agreement with Coherent Inc. (www.coherent.com) that gives Luna the right to manufacture and sell the former Iolon “Apollo” line of swept tunable lasers. The Iolon laser is a miniaturized, external-cavity laser originally developed for network transmission applications. Luna expects to use the technology in its test equipment offerings for the industrial and medical sensing markets.
Enablence Technologies Inc. (www.enablence.com) has accepted a purchase order for its GEPON diplexer transceiver product designed for the FTTH industry.
Internet2 (www.internet2.edu) has selected Infinera’s (www.infinera.com) DTN system for metro network extensions to its new national backbone network, allowing the network to expand to international exchange points in major cities, including New York City, Chicago, and Seattle. Internet2 also demonstrated 100-Gbit/sec transmission over Level3 Communications’ (www.level3.com) network using the DTN equipment.
Verizon Business (www.verizonbusiness.com) has deployed a mesh configuration on the trans-Atlantic portion of its global IP network to provide more diverse routes to benefit large business and government customers. The new six-way mesh configuration provides six diverse paths for rerouting traffic, if needed, on three major submarine cable network systems. The carrier also installed Ciena’s CoreDirector multiservice optical switching platforms at locations in both the United States and Europe.
Alloptic Inc. (www.alloptic.com), developer of Gigabit Ethernet passive optical networks (GEPONs), has been selected by Border to Border Communications in Zapata, TX, to provide its FTTP access system in the Dolores remote serving area.
Redfern Integrated Optics Inc. (www.rio-inc.com), manufacturer of optical transmitters for the telecommunications, data transmission, and other markets, has secured an additional $7 million from TMT Ventures, Tallwood Venture Capital, and Jolimont Capital. In connection with the new equity financing, Teresa Engelhard of Jolimont Capital joined RIO’s board of directors.
Mzima Networks (www.mzima.net) has chosen Turin Networks Inc.’s (www.turinnetworks.com) Traverse Multiservice Transport Switch to bring high security and reliability to its Ethernet service networks in the United States and Europe. The carrier chose the Turin equipment to upgrade its international network to 10 Gbits/sec and to deliver Ethernet private-line and virtual private-line services.
AT&T (www.att.com) and Cisco Systems (www.cisco.com) have introduced an enhanced encryption approach for enterprise customers’ MPLS networks. Both companies contributed resources in framing business needs and in providing feedback on the enhanced encryption offering, which uses the Cisco “tunnelless” virtual private network based on Group Encrypted Transport (GET VPN) technology. Tested in the AT&T Proof-of-Concept Labs, this offering will be available to AT&T customers in the first quarter of 2007.
Integra Telecom has selected Infinera to provide a new optical network for Integra’s long-haul network in the western US. Based in Portland, OR, Integra Telecom is one of the largest competitive carriers in the US. In July, Integra acquired Electric Lightwave LLC (ELI) to add ELI’s 4,700-route-mi long-haul network to Integra’s metropolitan-area fiber networks spanning more than 2,200 route-mi. Integra provides services to enterprises and carriers in eight western states.
Terawave Communications (www.terawave.com) and Kawasaki Microelectronics (K-micro; www.k-micro.us) announced that they have worked together to deliver what they claim is the industry’s highest-performing PHY ASIC built specifically for GPON optical line terminals (OLTs). Terawave’s TW-800 family of OLTs is the first to incorporate this technology.
Free (part of the Iliad Group), a triple-play over broadband operator in Europe, is to roll out the first and largest optical fiber network in France based on the Cisco Internet Protocol Next Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture and using Cisco Ethernet fiber-to-the-home (E-FTTH) technology.
ADVA Optical Networking (www.advaoptical.com) and Siemens (www.siemens.com) have received a contract with Eircom, the Republic of Ireland’s largest telecommunications carrier, to create a national next-generation network. The new network will provide Eircom’s business and residential customers with a range of bandwidth-intensive applications, including IPTV, voice-over-IP (VoIP), and triple-play services combining voice, video, and data in one bundle. ADVA Optical Networking and Siemens will cooperate in delivering the FSP 3000 WDM system for use in the network.
ADVA Optical Networking also announced that its Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 2000 DWDM transport system has been successfully deployed in a field demonstration for the transmission of 10-Gbit/sec Fibre Channel (10G-FC) signals between the German universities of Stuttgart and Hohenheim. The field demonstration involved 10G-FC DWDM transmission using the FSP 2000 on a link between the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) at the University of Stuttgart and the University of Hohenheim in southwest Germany.
Alcatel-Lucent has signed a turnkey contract with P&TLuxembourg to deploy a trans-European network using Alcatel-Lucent’s reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplex (ROADM)-powered system. The network will span more than 3,000 km linking Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, and London, as well as Paris and Strasbourg. Its deployment will provide P&TLuxembourg with a platform to support existing broadband services-including live TV streams, high-speed Internet access, e-shop, and e-mail-and further optimize the delivery of Ethernet-based services.
TV Cabo, a subsidiary of PT Multimedia and the largest pay-TV operator in Portugal, is using Harmonic’s (www.harmonicinc.com) portfolio of HFC broadband access equipment to optimize bandwidth efficiency in its cable television network. TV Cabo has implemented Harmonic’s METROLink forward and return path transmitters for narrowcast applications. Harmonic now provides TV Cabo with a complete system, including MAXLink broadcast transmitters and receivers, PWRBlazer scalable nodes, and Harmonic’s newest return path offering.
Etisalat (www.etisalat.ae), telecommunications service provider in the UAE, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Telkom Kenya Ltd. to construct, operate, and maintain a high-capacity fiber-optic submarine cable system between Mombasa, Kenya, and the Emirate of Fujairah. The jointly owned cable system will be known as The East African Marine System (TEAMS), comprising of a minimum of two fiber pairs with initial capacity of 10-Gbits/sec, upgradeable to 320 Gbits/sec. The two parties aim to be ready for service by November 2007, with a construction and supply contract to be awarded early in 2007.
Iraq Telecommunications & Post Corp. (ITPC), Iraq’s sole fixed-line operator, has awarded Nortel (www.nortel.com) a $20 million contract to build a nationwide optical backbone to deliver high-quality, high-bandwidth data, video, and multimedia services for personal and business communications. The new network will link to the ITPC’s Iraq South Ring DWDM network-built by Nortel in 2004 as part of the U.S. aid-funded Iraq reconstruction program. The network delivers broadband optical services between Baghdad and Basra. Nortel will supply a national optical backbone network that covers 5,000 km and includes 35 major cities. The network will be constructed using Nortel’s Common Photonic Layer (CPL), Optical Multiservice Edge (OME) 6500 terminals, and Optical Network Manager for simplifying field operations. The network will comprise seven interlocking rings providing a bandwidth capacity of up to 160 Gbits/sec per ring.
Alcatel-Lucent is deploying intelligent optical networking equipment for PT Telekomunikasi Selular (www.telkomsel.com), Indonesia’s largest mobile operator. The upgrade will enhance the carrier’s current backhaul capacity and aggregation capabilities. The Alcatel-Lucent equipment package, based on its 1678 Metro Core Connect and data-aware Optical Multi-Service Node systems, is also integrating Automatic Switched Optical Network and GMPLS technologies. The Alcatel-Lucent gear will be managed by the company’s 1350 management suite.
Verizon Business has signed a construction and maintenance agreement with a consortium that includes China Telecom (en.chinatelecom.com.cn) and China Netcom (www.chinanetcom.com.cn/en/) to build the first next-generation undersea optical cable system directly linking the U.S. mainland and China. The new system, to be named Trans-Pacific Express (TPE), initially will provide capacity of up to 1.28 Tbits/sec; the system will have design capacity of up to 5.12 Tbits/sec.
NEC (www.nec.com) has signed a long-term technology cooperation contract with TPACK (www.tpack.com) for the development of an advanced 10-Gbit/sec technology targeting the SpectralWave UN5000, NEC’s multiservice platform.
Beijing Power has chosen ECI Telecom (www.ecitele.com) to upgrade its optical communications network in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. In preparation for the Olympics, Beijing Power is building new power stations, connecting multiple Olympics sites, and upgrading its current communications infrastructure. ECI’s XDM optical equipment will be used to expand this network, providing Beijing Power with additional bandwidth capacity to handle peak demand during the Games. The network will be used for internal communications and for data communications to monitor the power stations and generators. The network will be managed by ECI’s LightSoft network management system.
Prysmian Cables & Systems (www.prysmian.com) has secured a contract for the supply of 6,300 km of fiber-optic cable to Libya. The cable will form the backbone of the new telecommunications network of the Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Co. (LPTIC), the national operator, and will extend into the northern and western areas of the country, including the capital, Tripoli. The cable, supplied through Italian main contractor SIRTI, will be produced at Prysmian’s Italian production facility at Livorno Ferraris in Italy and will contain from 24 to 96 optical fibers, depending on their location within the network. Installation of the cables will be completed in approximately 18 months, although the network will continue to evolve as other regions and cities are subsequently reached by fiber.
The Ethernet Alliance (www.ethernetalliance.org), an industry group dedicated to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology, has announced that the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) voted to support 100 Gbits/sec as the next speed for Ethernet. In addition, the IEEE 802.3 HSSG also agreed to support reaches of at least 100 m on OM3 multimode fiber and at least 10 km on singlemode fiber.
Ciena Corp. is partnering with MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to upgrade the Boston South Network (BoSSNET), an applications and network test bed for researching high-bandwidth (tens of Gbits/sec per wavelength), long-reach (approximately 1,000 km), all-optical transmissions using Ciena’s CoreStream Agility Optical Transport System. Designed and managed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in its role as a federally funded research and development center for the U.S. Department of Defense, BoSSNET is the research network for the lab’s Advanced Networks Group, which architects, designs, and builds prototypes of next-generation optical, wireless, and satellite communication networks to address critical problems of national security, while also transferring those technical advances to commercial applications.
France Telecom (www.francetelecom.com) has announced the second phase of its FTTH plan, with the early stage deployment of high-speed broadband in France. The early stage deployment phase will run from 2007 to 2008, with the aim of having 150,000 to 200,000 customers connected by the end of 2008 out of a potential client base of 1 million. The carrier plans to use GPON technology. France Telecom also announced that it would open this infrastructure to other carriers.