Allstream national broadband network uses Ciena packet-optical transport platforms

Canada’s Allstream Inc., a division of MTS Allstream Inc., which itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., has deployed a pan-Canada broadband network using platforms from Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN).

Allstream runs a national broadband and fiber-optic network that spans nearly 30,000 km. The Ciena 6500 Packet-Optical Platforms in Allstream’s network are capable of 100-Gbps operation. However, neither Allstream nor Ciena have indicated whether the business services provider plans to use that capability right away.

Allstream plans to use the network to offer managed wavelength services to support data center, financial institution, and government customers. In addition to the packet-optical transport systems, Allstream also will use Ciena’s network management software.

“Our customers are asking for higher speed wavelength services to facilitate data center connectivity, storage replication, cloud services, and other bandwidth-intensive applications and services,” says Mike Strople, CTO at MTS Allstream. “By using Ciena’s industry-leading coherent optical technology, we’re able to cost-effectively provide the performance and resiliency our customers demand to ensure their critical applications have the scale and capacity needed for their day-to-day business activities.”

Ciena says it now has shipped more than 9,000 coherent 40G/100G line interfaces to approximately 100 customers worldwide, with more than 9.0 million km of coherent-enabled fiber connections deployed.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyers Guide.