FEBRUARY 10, 2009 -- Transmode (search Lightwave for Transmode) and Canadian-based systems integrator Sak Data, say that Ontera, a regional carrier in Canada, has deployed Transmode's WDM equipment to boost its network capacity.
Ontera provides telecommunications and Internet services to customers throughout Northern Ontario and it needed to increase the capacity of its existing network.
"We considered a number of alternate solutions and ultimately selected Transmode because its products represented by far the best value," said Bernie Vierich, CTO at Ontera. "Our legacy network was run over discrete fiber pairs. In some areas, only one or two fiber pairs were available. The Transmode WDM System enabled us to exponentially increase the capacity of these fibers".
Ontera's plan was to build a 1500-km optical ring throughout northeastern Ontario, and WDM was the only way to expand the company's capabilities through the fiber-constrained areas, Transmode explains. The additional benefit of WDM is that it has enabled Ontera to sell additional wavelength services and private networks.
The design team, from both Ontera and Transmode, ensured that the system was designed to support growth and service differentiation and the eventual migration to 10-Gbps services, the systems vendor adds. The business benefit to Ontera has been that the carrier can now "turn on additional services very easily," according to Vierich.
After a two-month pilot project, Ontera deployed 40 of Transmode's TS-1100 chassis with eight-channel CWDM muxes in a double track configuration between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, a distance of some 1200 km. Transmode's 5400 Gigabit Ethernet Muxponder and 7700 transponders were also selected to carry Gigabit Ethernet and OC-48 SONET traffic, respectively.
Transmode says its technology has enabled Ontera to leverage its existing fiber assets and expand its core network capacity. It also has given Ontera the ability to quickly turn on new high-capacity private network services. By transitioning from a linear network to a resilient ring architecture, Ontera has extended the life of its network and is now prepared for the introduction of MPLS, the systems house concludes.
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