September 6, 2005 Sunnyvale, CA and London -- Infinera has been selected by FLAG Telecom, international wholesale network transport and communications services provider, to supply optical networking equipment in FLAG's largest metro networks. FLAG has deployed Infinera equipment on its fiber-optic networks in major metro areas, initially in Asia and Europe.
FLAG has deployed the Infinera DTN in its terrestrial network to provide DWDM and intelligent digital bandwidth management in the optical transport layer. FLAG based its decision to deploy Infinera DTN on the need to satisfy growing customer demand for high-capacity optical services.
"We are seeing strong demand for STM-16, 10G, and wavelength services in many of our larger metro locations," reports Peter Boland, senior vice president, Network Planning and Engineering, for FLAG Telecom. "We sought a system that would allow us to adapt quickly and easily to new growth, simplify network management, and improve our service quality. After evaluating multiple vendors of DWDM and ROADM technology, we concluded that the Infinera DTN was the best fit for our network requirements."
The Infinera DTN is unique in its use of a new semiconductor chip known as a photonic integrated circuit (PIC). Infinera claims it pioneered the development of large scale PICs, which it produces in its Indium Phosphide fabrication facility in California. Infinera's PICs integrate more than 60 optical devices onto a pair of chips, providing space, power, and reliability advantages as well as enabling a network architecture known as "Digital Optical Networking."
"Infinera's photonic integration technology benefits customer reliability because every PIC eliminates dozens of fiber couplings," explains Jagdeep Singh, CEO of Infinera. "In conventional optical networking systems, fiber couplings can account for well over 50-70% of optical component failures. In addition, the DTN offers integrated features such as Digital SNCP protection, so that carriers can offer 50-msec protected services without additional switching equipment."
The Infinera DTN combines DWDM, digital bandwidth management, and GMPLS-based network intelligence. The DTN supports 800 Gbits/sec of capacity and delivers a variety of manageable and protectable services, including 10-Gigabit Ethernet, 10-Gbit and 2.5-Gbit SDH/SONET, and Gigabit Ethernet. The DTN runs Infinera's IQ Network Operating System, which makes its digital bandwidth management possible; provides a rich set of performance monitoring capabilities; and supports automated network discovery, configuration, and provisioning via GMPLS, claim company representatives.