Ciena to supply Alaska Communications with GeoMesh technology for submarine cable, terrestrial upgrades

Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) says it has collaborated with Alaska Communications to upgrade the service provider's terrestrial and AKORNsubmarine cable networks.The fiber network upgrades will enable Alaska Communications to meet demands for mobile broadband services andcloud-based services to meet business needs, and offer unlimited, reliable internet access to residents.

Alaska Communications serves businesses, schools, health care providers, state and local governments, and other carriers with its terrestrial and AKORN undersea cable networks. AKORN is an undersea fiber-optic network between Alaska and Oregon, and has a geographically diverse secondary path for decreased service disruption (see "Alaska Communications Systems completes acquisition of Crest Communications").

Through Ciena's GeoMesh submarine cable technology, broadband and managed IT provider Alaska Communications will increase its network capacity by four times, from the lower 48 states to Alaska, the company says. Upgrading to higher capacity networks will enable Alaska Communications to minimize the amount of time it takes hospitals to share high-imaging files or offer 24/7 connectivity for public health and safety notification systems. The upgraded networks will also enable large scale data transfer for higher education institutions, Ciena asserts.

"Alaska Communications is constantly upgrading our network to improve our customers' experience. Our collaboration with Ciena is one way that we work to improve connectivity for businesses and consumers in Alaska," says Rick Benken, Alaska Communication's senior director, network engineering, strategy and management. "This upgrade will give our customers more agile capacity to expand services and leverage the power of our network and the cloud as organizations develop new services, providing businesses with new economic opportunities and supporting critical public safety services."

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