Sparkle gets more than a Nibble of capacity from Infinera for its optical backbone

Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) says that Sparkle has selected its ICE6 coherent technology for the Italian operator’s new Mediterranean and European optical backbone, Nibble. The use of ICE6 capabilities will enable Sparkle to launch new 400 Gigabit Ethernet services over its existing infrastructure and increase network capacity by more than half. The new capabilities will enable up to 30 Tbps per link, according to Infinera.

Sparkle successfully completed a trial deploying the ICE6 technology on live links from Catania to Milan and from Rome to Milan, achieving wavelength speeds of 500 Gbps across 2136 km and 700 Gbps over 858 km, respectively. The two companies plan to deploy 800-gigabit channels along other routes on the Sparkle network.

“Infinera’s innovative ICE6 optical networking solution supports the evolution of our network,” says Enrico Bagnasco, chief technology officer at Sparkle, “and enables us to deliver spectral efficiency and high-capacity services to meet customer expectations.”

Infinera had supplied technology for an earlier generation of the NIbble network (see "Italy’s Sparkle deploys Infinera XT-3600 in new Nibble Network"). Sparkle operates a global communications infrastructure that provides full connectivity, multi-cloud, colocation, mobile and voice services to enterprises, OTTs, carriers, media, and content players.

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