BT to increase core network capacity at 21CN

BT Group PLC (LSE: BT.A) is getting ready for the 100-Gbps era and beyond, judging from the news that it’s picked Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) to supply packet-optical transport equipment for its core 21st Century Network (21CN).

Ciena has been a strategic supplier to BT since 2003. The company provides high-capacity transmission and switching equipment, which serves as the foundation for much of BT's existing network infrastructure (see "BT announces 21CN suppliers").

Now BT plans to install intelligent optical transmission infrastructure based on Ciena’s 6500 packet-optical platform equipped with WaveLogic coherent optical processors. Ciena’s coherent technology supports 10G and 40G/100G wavelengths working side by side.

"Our long-standing relationship with Ciena has enabled us to bring targeted innovation to market ahead of our competition," said Neil J. McRae, chief network architect at BT. "This deployment underpins BT's product range and in particular supports growth in Wholesale Broadband Connect and Managed Ethernet Access Service. With this new infrastructure, we are continuing to invest for the future by increasing core network capacity, at eventual speeds of 400G, and simplifying management to push our network and services to the next level of performance."

Ciena's network implementation for BT will follow an aggressive timeline, with the commercial roll-out scheduled to begin by end of calendar 2011. The initial roll-out will include a single photonic layer covering BT's network throughout the UK.

Ciena's technology will deliver ROADM functionality as well as integrated OTN switching with advanced control plane functionality, which will enable BT to optimize support of a wide range of traffic types, and deliver groomed wavelength services to its enterprise customers (see “Ciena expands packet-optical transport line”).

By deploying products from across Ciena's transport and switching portfolio, including 6500 and 4200 platforms, BT can take advantage of Ciena's multi-layer, multi-domain management suite – OneControl. The unified management system will be integrated into BT's existing operations support systems, offering service lifecycle control and monitoring for the entire network.

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