XO Communications adds Infinera DTN-X for packet optical transport

XO Communications has extended a longstanding relationship with Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) by deploying the optical transport systems vendor’s DTN-X packet optical transport platform across the United States.

The service provider has deployed Infinera equipment in its fiber-optic network for several years (see, for example, "XO Communications taps Infinera for long-haul DWDM upgrade" and "XO Communications upgrades network with Infinera line system"). The two companies also paired for a 100-Gbps demonstration of the DTN-X in 2010 (see "Infinera, XO Communications field trial 100G transmission over 1348 km"). XO apparently liked what it saw.

"The rapid growth of network traffic from mobile data, Internet video, and cloud-based services puts tremendous stress on all areas of the XO network infrastructure," said Steve Nocella, XO Communications' CTO. "The Infinera Intelligent Transport Network will enable XO to rapidly and cost-effectively grow network capacity for 100G services, and will also allow us to better meet the bandwidth requirements of our customers."

Introduced in 2011, Infinera’s flagship DTN-X leverages the company’s photonic integrated circuit (PIC) expertise to support optical transmission of the 500-Gbps superchannels. The system can deliver more than 9 Tbps of capacity per fiber, the company asserts.

"Across the board, we are seeing accelerated bandwidth growth, driven primarily by new applications and Cloud infrastructure, which in turn is driving demand for scalable multi-terabit solutions," said Dave Welch, Infinera's President. "The Infinera Intelligent Transport Network helps position XO with an infrastructure designed to accommodate their growth while enabling support for 100 Gb/s and other high-performance services for their customers both today and tomorrow."

For more information on packet-optical transport systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.