Cogeco Cable deploys Ciena's CN 4200 FlexSelect platform

JANUARY 23, 2007 -- Cogeco Cable, a telecommunications company offering a range of services to customers in Canada and Portugal, has deployed the Ciena Corp.'s (search for Ciena) CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform as part of an initiative to transition its core infrastructure from SONET to Ethernet. According to Ciena, The CN 4200 is the only platform that can be programmed to support any mix of SONET/SDH, Ethernet, storage, or video services at any speed on any port at any time.

An international operator with cable systems in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec as well as in Portugal, Cogeco Cable supports nearly 2.2 million revenue-generating units across a suite of voice, video, and data services for residential and business customers. In the first phase of its network transition, Ciena's CN 4200 platforms have been deployed throughout Cogeco Cable's largest cable systems in Ontario. Additional phases currently underway will extend the CN 4200 rollout to support a majority of the operator's networks in Ontario.

"Our bandwidth needs are accelerating based on consumption of our advanced services -- from strong triple-play demand to more high-definition and video-on-demand programming -- so we are updating our core infrastructure to give us greater flexibility in scaling capacity without having to support multiple platforms for each service or make additional investments in the future," explains Denis Bélanger, vice president of corporate engineering and development for Cogeco Cable. "By carrying our existing SONET traffic at the same time as the new Gigabit Ethernet streams we are adding, Ciena's CN 4200 creates the most flexible network foundation for us to transition our network at our own pace and protects our investment by being able to simply reprogram the SONET ports to Ethernet when we are ready," he says.

Ciena's CN 4200, the flagship product of its FlexSelect Architecture, is the first multiservice transport and service aggregation platform capable of supporting the migration to packet networks using future-ready technology such as ITU G.709 Optical Transport Network (OTN) for transparent service multiplexing, remote service provisioning and management, and dynamic wavelength and sub-wavelength routing, says the company. The CN 4200 features a hybrid optical/electrical ROADM, which reduces wavelength consumption by up to 78%. Using software-defined service ports, it is capable of on-demand support for any transport or service protocol -- including SONET/SDH, Ethernet, storage (Fibre Channel, FICON, ESCON), or video -- at any speed on any available port, say Ciena representatives. The CN 4200 has been certified by the Metro Ethernet Forum as part of its Carrier Ethernet Certification Program.

"This is a significant agreement for Ciena as it represents our first deal with a Canadian MSO, which only strengthens our transport leadership in the global cable market," notes Mike Aquino, senior vice president of worldwide sales at Ciena. "More importantly, not only does the CN 4200 deliver the capacity and resiliency to deliver high-performance Ethernet transport, its programmable interfaces enable cable operators to expand services to business customers at any time, including Ethernet private line, Ethernet LAN and storage extension services."

In addition to the CN 4200, Cogeco Cable also is using Ciena's ON-Center Network and Service Management Suite.

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