Aqua Comms upgrades capacity on AEC-1, AEC-2 transatlantic submarine cables

March 23, 2021

Both upgrades were performed in-service, Ciena says. Aqua Comms also has adopted Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller for network management and control as well as Ciena’s Insights Service and predictive software capabilities.

Stephen Hardy

Aqua Comms has increased the capacity on its AEC-1 and AEC-2 America Europe Connect transatlantic submarine cables in collaboration with Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), the communications technology provider has revealed. Ciena has supplied its GeoMesh Extreme submarine network technologies for the upgrades, which also enable improved network management capabilities.

AEC-1 links the U.S., Ireland, and the UK (see "AquaComms taps Ciena for AEConnect transatlantic submarine cable system"). Ciena says that Aqua Comms has doubled the capacity of the 5,521-km submarine cable and enabled the support of 400 Gigabit Ethernet services via application of Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent engine. AEC-1 now has a system capacity of nearly 20 Tbps.

For the 7650-km AEC-2 submarine network, the use of the Ciena GeoMesh Extreme portfolio has enabled support of channel rates up to 500G as well as the use of spectrum sharing and backhaul capabilities. AEC-2 connects North America with Scandinavia, Ireland, and the UK (see "Transatlantic AEC-2 submarine cable system is now live").

“Moving at high speed is key and Ciena’s strong history of innovation has been instrumental in our ability to adapt to changing network requirements. With Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution we are not only boosting our submarine network capacity but also adopting AI capabilities and software intelligence, bringing greater velocity and simplicity to our network,” said Andy Hudson, chief networks officer at Aqua Comms.

“Aqua Comms has proven to be a trail blazer in the subsea market,” added Ian Clarke, vice president of global submarine solutions at Ciena. “With these network enhancements Aqua Comms can offer greater efficiencies and reliability across its network and support the hyper-growth traffic between the US and Europe.”

For related articles, visit the Network Design Topic Center.

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

To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.

About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.