May 10, 2006 Ottawa, Canada -- Meriton Networks announced that Canada's RBC Financial Group has deployed a private high-speed regional network featuring the Meriton Agile Optical Networking (AON) architecture. Separately, Meriton announced that PalmettoNet, a provider of digital fiber-optic networks in the North and South Carolina, has extended its high-speed network with the Meriton 6400 Optical Transport Platform (OTP).
One of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and Canada's largest bank, RBC is using Meriton's scalable Gigabit Ethernet transport system to connect its key data centers and expand its services while protecting the security of its customers' data. The deployment adds Gigabit Ethernet capacity to the bank's existing OC-48 network.
"With ever increasing storage growth and requirements for data replication, being able to scale our network with ease and at the least expense was paramount," says Dick Swadley, executive vice-president of IT infrastructure for RBC Financial Group. "As a bank, we're naturally focused on the bottom line, and we're very pleased with the financial benefits we're already deriving from the Meriton solution."
According to a press release, RBC deployed the following components of Meriton's AON architecture: the 7200 Optical Switching Platform (OSP) for metro WDM transport; the 3300 Optical Services Multiplexer (OSM) for metro access; the 1455 Optical Fiber Amplifiers (OFA) to extend network reach up to 600 km; the 8600 Network Management System (NMS) to fully manage the bank's end-to-end network; and the 8300 Element Management System (EMS) for field commissioning and provisioning of services.
Meriton says its AON portfolio brings together a series of "best-in-class" products under a unified management system, allowing network operators to build optical networks with a choice of technology (OEO or WSS-based ROADMs) and architectural deployment (ring and mesh). According to the company, with its inherently flexible design and ability to scake along with a network operator's business, the AON architecture enables the effective launch of high-speed consumer broadband and business Ethernet and SAN service offerings, despite such uncertainties as unpredictable traffic patterns, changing service mixes, and an evolving regulatory environment.
"We are honored to be the foundation for what is one of the most important networks in Canada," comments Mike Pascoe, president and CEO of Meriton Networks. "RBC is a prime example of the world-class customers that are validating the Meriton value proposition: we provide the most scalable, secure, and cost-effective networking solution in the industry."
Meriton also announced today that PalmettoNet, a provider of digital fiber-optic networks in the North and South Carolina, has extended its high-speed network with the Meriton 6400 Optical Transport Platform (OTP).
A "carrier's carrier" with over 3,100 fiber route miles, PalmettoNet leases capacity to prominent telecommunications carriers providing inter- and intrastate, as well as interchange service in the Carolinas. The carrier says it selected the Meriton 6400 OTP because it provides the flexibility and reliability necessary to deliver a full range of point-to-point services throughout its region, including traditional SONET connectivity (DS1, DS3, OC3 through OC192) and Gigabit Ethernet.
In addition to the flexibility of the 6400 OTP, which leverages Meriton's ADM-on-a-Wavelength technology, PalmettoNet says a key driver for its selection of the 6400 OTP was its ability to provide reconfigurable DWDM channels in a cost-effective manner. The carrier says it evaluated a number of options for expanding its network capacity, and found that deploying the 6400 OTP was significantly more cost-effective than adding new channels to its existing DWDM systems.
"'On-time service delivery and reliability are cornerstones for PalmettoNet, and the Meriton 6400 OTP allows us to deliver on those promises while offering our customers the most advanced telecommunications technology available," comments Joe Moss, chief engineer for PalmettoNet. "The 6400 OTP enables us to turn up new services quickly and easily."
The deployed 6400 OTP systems are equipped with multiple wavelengths at varying bandwidth rates of OC192, OC48, and Gigabit Ethernet over 550 route miles.
"We are proud that our 6400 OTP is helping PalmettoNet meet not only its customers' varying communications needs, but also its own stringent reliability and cost requirements," remarks Bill Gartner, chief operating officer for Meriton Networks. "We look forward to continuing to work with PalmettoNet as it transitions to an Agile Optical Network capable of flexibly, rapidly, and cost-effectively supporting its customers' changing service requirements."
The Meriton 6400 OTP combines wavelength selective switch technology with a GMPLS control plane, a 10-port multiservice GFP card, and a GUI-based network management system. The platform provides ROADM capability for delivering SONET/SDH and Ethernet-based services.