Australia’s NBN deploying Coriant CloudWave Optics

NBN Co, the company responsible for Australia’s national broadband network, has begun an upgrade of its backbone with Coriant CloudWave Optics, according to the systems vendor. The technology enhancement, deployed across the Coriant hiT 7300 Multi-Haul Transport Platforms upon which the 60,000-km fiber-optic backbone is based, will increase capacity to 200 Gbps per wavelength from the current 100 Gbps.

Overall, the doubling of transmission rates will increase the maximum aggregate transmission to 19.2 Tbps per fiber link. NBN Co also will enjoy smaller footprint requirements, reduced power consumption, and greater throughput density, says Coriant, and will prep the network for eventual support of 400-Gbps wavelengths. The first links to receive the optical upgrade of routes between Eastern Creek and Asquith in Sydney and the 3600-km route between Brisbane, Queensland, and Darwin in the Northern Territory.

“Our transit network is the backbone of the nbn Multi-Technology Mix that aims to provide Australians with access to fast services,” said Kathrine Dyer, chief network deployment officer at NBN Co. “This upgrade will ensure we can continue to deliver a reliable and high-quality broadband access network for our wholesale customers even as high-bandwidth applications and the growth of internet usage continue to drive demand for network capacity.”

Coriant announced a deal to supply its CloudWave Optics for the upgrade last year (see “nbn upgrades national fiber backbone network with Coriant CloudWave Optics”). NBN Co selected the hIT 7300 for its fiber-optic backbone in 2010, when Coriant was still in its Nokia Siemens Network days (see “NBN Co taps Nokia Siemens Networks for Australian NBN DWDM backbone”).

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