RASCOM runs 100 Gbps from Russia to Western Europe with Ciena gear

Russian service provider RASCOM is using the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform from Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) to upgrade and expand its fiber-optic network between Russia and Western Europe with 100-Gbps coherent transmission technology. The new capabilities will enable RASCOM to be the first in the region to offer 100 Gigabit Ethernet services to its wholesale and business customers, Ciena reports.

RASCOM’s 8600-km network connects Moscow to Western Europe through St. Petersburg and the Nordic countries. It includes a ring network that connects Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Copenhagen. Thanks to the 6500 packet-optical transport platform, the network will offer 8.8 Tbps of capacity while supporting 10G, 40G, and 100G wavelengths simultaneously. Because the network covers difficult terrain, the platform’s ability to support remove wavelength adds and drops via its ROADM capabilities is very beneficial, Ciena says.

“RASCOM’s extensive network covers the international routes demanded by Russian carriers and connects with key traffic exchange points in Russia and Western Europe,” explains Vitaly Kireyev, general director at RASCOM. “Our long-haul connectivity offerings are in high demand, putting pressure on RASCOM’s infrastructure as capacity requirements grow exponentially. That’s why we decided to scale the capacity on the network to 100G, which was successfully completed in April.

“RASCOM selected Ciena’s technology due to its flexibility and scalability, and the recent 100G upgrade confirms again that we have made the right choice,” Kireyev continues. “We increased the network’s capacity by a factor of 2.5 without any interruption to existing services, allowing RASCOM to continue to meet our customers’ changing bandwidth requirements.”

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