October 24, 2005 Allen, TX -- Xtera announced that FLAG Telecom, a provider of international wholesale network transport and communications services, is purchasing additional Xtera Nu-Wave multi-reach DWDM equipment to respond to a "500% increase" in orders for wavelength capacity on the FLAG Atlantic-1 (FA-1) multi-Tbit/sec optical submarine cable.
According to a press release, the increase, measured quarter-on-quarter in the first half of 2005, has been driven by the increased use of broadband services by businesses, and customer demand for bandwidth-intensive applications, including video, data, and advanced voice services.
Xtera's DWDM system was installed in FLAG's FA-1 backhaul system last year to support anticipated capacity growth, network simplification, and demand for high-quality bandwidth required by emerging broadband applications. The provider's current purchases include add-on devices that provide access to the capacity supplied by the existing DWDM platform.
Xtera says its DWDM technology provides 3x the capacity of other DWDM systems, using low-loss OADMs to simplify the network while simultaneously increasing its flexibility, a capability that the company says is paramount in responding to both planned and spontaneous surges in orders.
"Our 18-month relationship with FLAG Telecom has enhanced their ability to service customers with superior bandwidth for converging applications," contends Jon Hopper, CEO of Xtera.
"Our initial requirement was to increase capacity and minimize wavelength turn-up time," explains Peter Boland, SVP of engineering and network planning at FLAG Telecom. "With the implementation of Xtera's Nu-Wave equipment, all back-to-back terminals in the previous FA-1 backhaul system were replaced with more flexible optical add/drop multiplexers. The result is that 50% fewer network elements have to be serviced to fulfill end-to-end FA-1 backhaul orders."