SingTel Enhances ConnectPlus IPLC & E-Line Services with Intelligent Mesh Network from Ciena

Ciena^® Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN, news, filings), the network specialist, announced today that Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel),  has deployed Ciena’s 5410 Packet-Optical Reconfigurable Switch System (RSS) and OneConnect Intelligent Control Plane software to augment its global ConnectPlus IPLC network. SingTel’s newly enhanced network links key business hubs in Asia, Europe and USA. The network will allow enterprises to enjoy highly reliable high speed services on a state-of-the-art optical network that is capable of data transfers of up to 10Gbps per single connection. This will enable enterprises to fully harness the benefits of information and computer technologies (ICT) across regions.

Key Facts:

• SingTel is a Singapore-based communications provider with operations in 26 countries, and more than 135 points of presence across over 80 global cities worldwide. To enhance its global ConnectPlus IPLC & E-Line services, SingTel needed a proven, highly reliable and cost-effective network solution that could meet growing demand for a mix of assured service delivery, low-latency and high-bandwidth services for enterprise and wholesale customers worldwide.

• Ciena’s 5410 RSS links SingTel’s global points-of-presence to provide efficient aggregation, grooming and intelligent switching of SONET/SDH, OTN and high-capacity leased line, and  Ethernet traffic in a highly resilient mesh network design across existing submarine capacity. This deployment is a significant enhancement compared to traditional SONET/SDH only switching and augments SingTel’s high-capacity leased line and Ethernet services. Moreover, this deployment unlocks the delivery of tiered service levels, and differentiated service offerings such as Optical Virtual Private Networks (O-VPN).

• Ciena’s sophisticated OneConnect Intelligent Control Plane technology allows SingTel to detect faults swiftly and automatically switch data traffic to backup routes as needed. As this can be accomplished within 50 milliseconds, it allows SingTel business customers to minimise the impact of breakages due to cable cuts, earthquakes and network outages. Additionally, business customers can stay connected to their worldwide offices without any disruption to their activities, thus providing SingTel a competitive edge in the enterprise services landscape.

• Ciena’s 5410 RSS platform, featuring Ciena’s ON-Center® Network and Service Management Suite, ensures SingTel can optimize its network for cost-effective, dynamic, scalable and intelligent bandwidth management.

Industry Comments:

• “Advances in packet optical switching and intelligent control plane technology help position service providers like SingTel to better address enterprise and consumer demand for uninterrupted data flow. Additionally, with a high-capacity, high-performance network, featuring a mesh network design for resiliency, operators can differentiate themselves by offering tiered service levels and new packet optical services to monetize network assets.”
  – Ron Kline, Principal Analyst, Ovum 

Executive Comments:

• “At SingTel, customers’ business priorities have always been our key focus. With the implementation of these latest technologies in our network, customers’ networks will be future-ready for the delivery of ICT services across multiple geographies. We can help our customers achieve greater business advantage by allowing them to deploy data-intensive applications such as video conferencing, multimedia, data analysis and business continuity planning.”
  –  Mr. Goh Boon Huat, Vice President of Business Products, SingTel

• “This deployment is an excellent example of Ciena’s OPⁿ network architecture that equips carriers to scale their networks to handle the demands wrought by high-bandwidth services and applications such as cloud, data center migration and mobile broadband. With our packet optical technology and intelligent control plane software, SingTel has deployed its first global intelligent mesh network with the ability to offer high-availability, high capacity SONET/SDH, OTN and Ethernet dedicated or virtual private services across the globe. Our OneConnect advanced restoration capabilities will help SingTel mitigate unexpected cable cuts – whether man-made, or the result of a natural catastrophe — providing critical protection in a region prone to unpredictable weather patterns.”
  – Anthony McLachlan, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Ciena

Technology Leadership:

• Ciena’s OneConnect control plane technology enables programmable and virtualized resources with unprecedented automation and resiliency across the entire network. Ciena’s leadership in control plane technology stems from a 12 year history of innovation and live field deployments in some of the world’s largest, most mission-critical and most performance-demanding networks, representing thousands of nodes and hundreds of thousands of circuits.

• More than 90 percent of field-deployed Ciena Packet-Optical Switching systems run Ciena’s control plane for automated service creation, mesh restoration and service differentiation with some customers reporting unprecedented 99.9999 percent (six-9s) availability due to the performance and robustness of Ciena’s control plane technology.

• Ciena’s 5410 Reconfigurable Switching System enables efficient aggregation, grooming and forwarding of multiple traffic types in metro and regional sites. Combined with Ciena’s industry-leading control plane technology, the 5410 automates labor-intensive operations including planning, provisioning and inventory management.

Supporting Resources:

• Product Overview: 5410 Reconfigurable Service Switch
• Product Overview: OneConnect Intelligent Control Plane
• Product Overview: ON-Center Network and Service Management Suite
• White Paper: Intelligent Optical Control Plane Architecture
• White Paper: Optical Virtual Private Networks
• White Paper: Addressing Service Challenges by Leveraging OTN with Control Plane
• Video: Optical Control Plane

About Ciena
Ciena is the network specialist. We collaborate with customers worldwide to unlock the strategic potential of their networks and fundamentally change the way they perform and compete. With focused innovation, Ciena brings together the reliability and capacity of optical networking with the flexibility and economics of Ethernet, unified by services and software that delivers the industry’s leading network automation. We routinely post recent news, financial results and other important announcements and information about Ciena on our website. For more information, visit www.ciena.com.

Note to Ciena Investors
Forward-looking statements. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and Ciena’s actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-Q, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 5, 2012. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena’s expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Jamie Moody
Ciena Corporation
+1(214) 995-8035
jmoody@ciena.com