Southern Cross Cable Future Proofs Network with Ciena Upgrade

WaveLogic to support world’s first trans-Pacific coherent technology deployment with longest fiber span running coherent 40G optics; Next-generation intelligent switching platform to enable flexible capacity management and improved network resiliency

LINTHICUM, Md. — 10/31/2011

Ciena^® Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN, news, filings), the network specialist, today announced it was selected by Southern Cross Cables, an independent Australasian bandwidth wholesaler that owns and maintains a trans-Pacific network, to expand its subsea cable network. To meet growing demand for high-bandwidth services and applications like video and cloud computing, which is now pushing its needs beyond 10 Gb/s wavelengths, Southern Cross Cables will increase capacity on all of its network segments between Australia, New Zealand and the United States, including one that spans more than 8,000 kilometers, with Ciena’s industry-leading 40/100G coherent optical solutions. Southern Cross Cable will also enhance its network’s survivability, efficiency, and intelligence with advanced bandwidth management and operations afforded by Ciena’s multi-protocol switching platform to future proof the network.

Key Facts:

• Building on its existing coherent 40G terrestrial deployments with Ciena’ s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, Southern Cross will augment its existing network with additional 6500 platforms equipped with 40G and 100G submarine-grade coherent line interfaces, which are designed to significantly and cost-effectively increase submarine network capacity without disrupting existing customer traffic or adding cost and complexity to the network.
• With Ciena’s WaveLogic coherent technology, the network expansion will involve a 400G capacity upgrade on each of the operator’s seven segments, taking lit capacity on each cable to 1 Tb/s and total capacity on the network to 2 Tb/s.
• This in turn will allow Southern Cross to continue offering fast, direct, and secure international bandwidth from Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii to the continental United States. The implementation of the Ciena technology also provides the base platform on which Southern Cross’ new generation of products, such as 40GbE and OTN services, can be developed.
• Southern Cross will also leverage Ciena’s 5430 and 5410 Reconfigurable Switching Systems, which offer 3.6 Terabits per second (Tb/s) and 1.2 Tb/s of OTN-based intelligent control plane-enabled switching capacity for bandwidth aggregation and management. In addition to automating operations and simplifying management, the 5400 platforms will allow Southern Cross to create a survivable mesh-enabled submarine network architecture, which will significantly minimize the risk of natural and manmade network disruptions, even under multi-failure conditions.
• In addition, Southern Cross is deploying Ciena’s OneControl Unified Management System for end-to-end management across Layers 0 and 1 on both the 6500 and 5400 platforms. This will provide Southern Cross Cable with a comprehensive solution to manage their mission critical networks including multi-layer intelligence for rapid service turn-up, unsurpassed visibility through protocol layers for troubleshooting and efficient use of assets and bandwidth.
• As part of the Ciena Specialist Services portfolio, Southern Cross will also utilize Ciena’s Implementation Services to ensure the network is deployed and commissioned accurately and on time. Ciena’s team of specialists will provide Southern Cross local technical resources to install, test and turn-up the network in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.
• Deploying WaveLogic for greater capacity over long-reach terrestrial and submarine routes, 5400 with multi-layer control plane intelligence to monetize that capacity, OneControl for common management and Specialist Services for dedicated support, Southern Cross is able to extract full value from its existing network assets while advancing its time-to-market advantage and position as the preferred Asia Pacific submarine cable network.

Executive Quotes:

• “Southern Cross continues to invest and build ahead of subscriber demand to advance innovation and broadband growth. This upgrade takes our network total capacity to 2 Tb/s, but with Ciena’s current technology our total capacity can  quickly expand to at least 7.2 Tb/s, highlighting our ability to support demand from Australia’s NBN and New Zealand’s UFB initiatives. Ciena’s industry-leading technology and customer-first approach ensures we can provide even higher capacity wholesale offerings with more advanced capacity management solutions both cost-effectively and with simple upgrade paths as demand continues to rise.”

–          Ross Pfeffer, Director Sales & Marketing, Southern Cross

• “This extension of our partnership with Southern Cross cable networks for coherent technology and intelligent switching will enable significant capacity and time-to-market advantage for this leading submarine network operator. In addition, this deployment illustrates our successful cross-portfolio product integration and our unmatched ability to provide a complete, turn-key solution that allows our customers to build more intelligent infrastructures with greater network efficiency, resiliency and service differentiation.”

–          Anthony McLachlan, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Ciena

Technology Leadership and Product Background:

• Ciena’s WaveLogic coherent receiver technology enables unobtrusive 40G/100G upgrades to existing submarine networks with only the addition of new terminal equipment, significantly extending the life of existing cable plants and further lengthening its lifespan.
• Ciena’s 5430 and 5410 platforms are optimized for cost-effective, scalable and intelligent bandwidth management, enabling efficient aggregation, grooming, and tiered protection of SONET/SDH and OTN traffic types. Both platforms are powered by Ciena’s market-leading multi-layer optical Control Plane, which allows operators to automate labor-intensive operations including planning, provisioning, and inventory management, while dramatically increasing network resiliency and availability.
• Ciena is the pioneer and market leader of coherent optical technology with more than 10,000 coherent 40G/100G line interfaces shipped to more than 80 customers across the globe, including deployments in eight countries across the Asia Pacific region.
• Ciena is also the pioneer in intelligent switching, with more than 2,000 control plane-enabled nodes deployed worldwide with several mesh networks that circle the globe.

Supporting Resources and Multimedia:

• Submarine Application Note: Submarine Solutions for an Increasingly Competitive Market
• Coherent Application Note: Coherent Optical Processing for High-Capacity Networks
• Data Sheet: 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
• Data Sheet: 5430 Reconfigurable Service Switch
• Data Sheet: 5410 Reconfigurable Service Switch
• White paper: Survivable Submarine Optical Networks
• Video: Ciena’s 100G Technology Increases the Capacity of Major Submarine Networks
• Video: What is Coherent Optical Networking?
• Video: Ciena Intelligent Infrastructure Solutions

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