Ciena brings coherent 100G to South Korea’s research community

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) has selected 100 Gbps coherent optical networking equipment from Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) to provide a high-capacity international connection for research and education institutions across Korea.

KISTI has been using Ciena’s 6500 packet-optical transport platform since 2005 for its international backbone linking the research and education (R&E) community in Korea with the Global Ring Network for Advanced Applications Development (GLORIAD), an advanced optical network connecting scientists and researchers worldwide. To enable 100 Gbps, KISTI will install Ciena's Wavelogic 100G coherent technology on the Ciena 6500 platform, and will also deploy Ciena's Common Photonic Layer DWDM transport platform.

The news comes just a month after Ciena officially opened a new office located in Seoul, South Korea. The new facility is a full-service sales and operations office covering sales, pre-sales engineering, post-sales support and engineering, and operations.

Anthony McLachlan, vice-president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Ciena, said, “We are thrilled to support KISTI in building the country’s first 100G network, which will provide the advanced infrastructure required to enable the citizens of Korea to better collaborate with the global scientific community and fully benefit from leading-edge technology discoveries.”

The optical vendor also points out that it has notched up a number of 100G wins in the R&E sector, adding to 100G deployments with Internet2, RoEduNet, SURFnet, Renater, and a prototype 100-Gbps network for the US Department of Education.

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