BT's Openreach to offer wholesale 40-Gbps, 100-Gbps optical services

Openreach, the local access network business of BT, says it plans to launch 40- and 100-Gbps wavelength services on its fiber-optic network beginning late this month. The services will be aimed at other communications service providers.

The new services, enabled via Ciena Corp.’s (NASDAQ:CIEN) 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, will allow communications provider customers to offer flexible, high-bandwidth, multisite connectivity, and cloud-based services to their enterprise and data center customers, Openreach says. The optical services also will support low-latency connections to enable high-frequency trading or synchronous data backup.

“As more and more businesses move to high-bandwidth, cloud based services and applications, our CP customers are looking to support them with a much broader range of high-quality connectivity options,” said Jon Hurry, managing director, Strategy, Commercial, Portfolio & Policy at Openreach. “These new optical services from Openreach are future-proof, and they take advantage of BT’s unrivalled investment in fiber infrastructure across the UK. They also come with the backing of our combined professional service teams, giving customers access to world class expertise and support from both Openreach and Ciena.”

Ciena has supplied platforms such as the 6500 packet-optical transport system to BT since 2003. The two parties recently experimented with transmission of high-speed superchannels (see “BT and Ciena trial 800G superchannel”). Openreach says in a notice to customers released yesterday that the 6500 systems will be available April 29. The network's existing Ciena 4200 platforms will remain available as well.

“Demand for high-bandwidth services and business critical applications is increasing at an exponential rate. Ciena is committed to helping partners, such as Openreach, monetise their network investments to compete in the rapidly evolving marketplace,” according to Nigel Williams, vice president, global channels and strategic alliances. “Expanding our relationship with Openreach ensures that providers get the flexibility and scalability they need to build a competitive advantage in the marketplace, offer a broader portfolio of next-generation services, and the applications critical to the success of their enterprise clients.”

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.