Djibouti Telecom doubles DARE1 submarine cable network capacity

Aug. 23, 2021

The optical transport technology upgrade will double the per-wavelength capacity to 400 Gbps.

Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) says it is supplying its GeoMesh Extreme technology to Djibouti Telecom, who is upgrading its capacity on the Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE1) submarine cable network. The optical transport technology upgrade will double the per-wavelength capacity to 400 Gbps.

Headquartered in Djibouti City, state-owned Djibouti Telecom supplies landline, mobile, and internet services to its home country, which is located on the northeast coast of the Horn of Africa. The country sits on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a busy shipping route between the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The position makes Djibouti a communications hub as well, thanks in large part to submarine cables such as DARE1. The 5,000-km network connects Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia (see "DARE1 submarine cable marine survey completed, new landing station added").

“Submarine cable networks are our lifeline to the connected world, especially with more people relying on the internet than ever before,” commented Mohamed Assoweh Bouh, general manager of Djibouti Telecom. “The DARE1 upgrade lets us bring much-needed connectivity and content closer to more users, faster—priming our area for economic growth today and for years to come.”

That upgrade will leverage such Ciena GeoMesh Extreme portfolio elements as the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform with WaveLogic coherent DSPs, Spectrum Sharing capabilities that will enable the partitioning of submarine optical spectrum to different end users, and the Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller for network management.

“Leveraging Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, Djibouti Telecom expands the capacity of DARE1 to make possible dynamic new 10G, 100G, and Spectrum Sharing services for an increasingly digital world,” said Ian Clarke, vice president of global submarine solutions at Ciena.

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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.

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