MTA Fiber Holdings taps Ciena for AlCan ONE terrestrial fiber network
MTA Fiber Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaskan co-op MTA, says it will use systems from Cian (NYSE:CIEN) on its Alaska Canada Overland Network (AlCan ONE). Announced this past May, AlCan ONE is envisaged as an all-terrestrial fiber network that will link Alaska to the contiguous United States and beyond (see “MTA Fiber Holdings announces plans for AlCan ONE Alaskan terrestrial fiber network”).
Construction of AlCan ONE has begun and will leverage Ciena’s 5170 Service Aggregation Switch and 6500 Packet-Optical platform. “We are very proud to have chosen Ciena’s robust optical and packet platforms to play a vital role in AlCan ONE, making the network best-in-class and exceeding the highest industry standards,” said Michael Burke, CEO of MTA. “Our customers will now receive faster, lower-latency service and experience quicker recovery times for any possible outages, making this a win for residential, business, and governmental users and ultimately for the state of Alaska as a whole.”
AlCan ONE will have an initial capacity of more than 100 Tbps, with room to grow. MTA Fiber Holdings expects the fiber-optic network to provide connectivity for Alaskan data centers to each other, to the lower 48 states, and to the rest of the world, serving the connectivity needs of MTA members. The service provider expects to complete construction of the fiber network by mid-2020.
“The integration of Ciena’s optical and packet technology into the AlCan ONE network will greatly improve services and bandwidth for customers as well as allow for continued growth moving into the future,” added Bruce Hembree, vice president and general manager of North America sales at Ciena.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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