Infinera selected by Southern Light for Gulf Coast regional network

March 25, 2009
MARCH 25, 2009 -- Infinera provides PIC-based DTN system for Southern Light's DWDM network.

MARCH 25, 2009 -- Southern Light LLC has selected an Infinera (search Lightwave for Infinera) Digital Optical Network for its regional network in the Gulf Coast states.

Headquartered in Mobile, AL, Southern Light is a carrier providing a range of services to customers in the Gulf States. Its network spans more than 2,000 route-miles from Jacksonville, FL to Lafayette, LA, passing through major metropolitan centers and military installations along the Gulf Coast.

Based on Infinera's photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which integrate 100 Gbps of capacity onto a pair of chips, the DTN system provides integrated digital bandwidth management at every node. The company's IQ network operating system enables the network to recognize and configure network assets and re-route network traffic automatically. The equipment provider says Southern Light found the Infinera system offered the capacity and scalability of a DWDM system combined with the manageability and fault-tracking features of a traditional SONET network.

"With Infinera, we have real-time visibility into our DWDM network's operations," says Southern Light chief technology officer Jack De La Garza. "Our team is able to manage and troubleshoot the network the same way we would a traditional SONET network."

De La Garza adds that Infinera's integrated bandwidth management provides greater flexibility than traditional analog reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs), which can encounter wavelength contention issues as more traffic is added to the network. The DTN is a digital ROADM for long-haul and metro core networks. Infinera says its architecture avoids the problem because fully digital switching enables wavelength conversion as and when required.

Southern Light carries traffic for wireless carriers. The growth of wireless data traffic, which is anticipated with the growing popularity of high-bandwidth services like wireless video and the transition to 4G wireless networks, is expected to lead to even more business in the wireless sector, requiring greater network flexibility. "Wireless backhaul is a tremendous market for Southern Light, and Infinera will help us meet that opportunity," says De La Garza.

"Infinera is pleased to support Southern Light as they bring the power and reliability of an Infinera Digital Optical Network to the Gulf States," says Infinera chief executive Jagdeep Singh.


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