UNINETT brings 100G optical network to the Arctic

UNINETT, a non-profit that supplies telecom and data communications services to Norwegian universities and research institutions, has tapped Coriant to supply its hiT 7300 Multi-Haul Transport Platform for a new 100G-capable submarine optical network that will connect an Arctic research facility.

The undersea cable network will link Ny-Ålesund and Longyearbyen on the Svalbard archipelago. The former location is the northernmost civilian year-round settlement in the world, Coriant says. It is a research facility for the study of life, earth, and environmental sciences. With plans afoot to construct a new astronomical research observatory on the site, bandwidth demands among the various research stations at Ny-Ålesund are expected to increase significantly.

"High-speed global collaboration and real-time exchange of media-rich data and applications are critical to research and educational institutions, and serve as the life blood of research communities like Ny-Ålesund," said Vidar Faltinsen, CTO of UNINETT. "In order help us achieve our goal of bringing our customers state-of-the art broadband communications, we needed a proven technology partner that could deliver a highly reliable and flexible DWDM solution, with the service expertise to support network deployment and service commissioning in Svalbard's particularly harsh environment. Coriant proved the ideal partner on all fronts."

Coriant will supply both the hiT 7300 as well as its Transport Network Management System (TNMS) for the project. The packet-optical transport system will serve as submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE) for the submarine network between Ny-Ålesund and Longyearbyen, a route of approximately 260 km. More than 200 Norwegian research and educational institutions and more than 300,000 users are expected to benefit.

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