UK Ethernet Service Provider Neos has implemented Nortel Networks' OPTera Long Haul 1600 Optical Line System to upgrade its Neosnet optical backbone network — the UK's only Layer 2 MPLS Ethernet network — for Gigabit Ethernet traffic over DWDM channels, providing up to eight GbE services per wavelength. It is expected to be the world's first operational deployment of Nortel's OPTera Long Haul 1600 for high-density Ethernet transport.
The upgraded Neosnet will position customers to leverage Ethernet in enterprise networks, minimising the number of routers that must be equipped with costly WAN ports. Customers will be able to take advantage of Neos' Liquid Bandwidth Ethernet, which provides soft-provisioned Ethernet bandwidth upgrades in increments from 1Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s. Neos plans to offer on-line web-based bandwidth orders with 48 hr delivery, rather than the current 60 days.
CEO John Wheeler says that Neos has extended the service price/performance metrics without incurring the capital expense of legacy technologies such as SMDS, frame relay and ATM.