Colt upgrades Colt IQ Network with Ciena optical transport technology
Colt Technology Services says it has upgraded the Colt IQ Network through the addition of Ciena’s (NYSE: CIEN) WaveLogic Ai coherent transmission technology as well as a conversion to flexible grid photonics. The enhancements will increase core network capacity and enable the launch of new services, says Colt.
Launched in 2016, the Colt IQ Network features connections to more than 900 data centers and 27,500 on net buildings in Europe and Asia. While the original upgrade to 100 Gbps came in collaboration with Cisco (see “Colt upgrades packet fiber-optic network to 100 Gbps” and “Cisco upgrades enable Colt IQ Network to deliver high-bandwidth connectivity”), Colt has worked with Ciena since at least 2011 (see “Colt taps Ciena for improved European enterprise managed services”) and deployed Ciena’s 6500 Converged Packet Optical Platform across its footprint beginning in 2017. The most recent upgrade will quadruple the capacity on Colt’s core optical network and enable the delivery of 400-Gbps and higher wavelength services. The flex-grid capability will improve Colt’s high-bandwidth optical connectivity and Spectrum offerings to enable Colt customers to deploy bandwidth at scale. With Spectrum, Colt offers customers access to fiber-optic network spectrum to light multiple 100-Gbps wavelengths using their own transponders between two points on a metro, national, or international basis. The service provider positions Spectrum as an alternative to dark fiber and leverages Ciena optical technology as an enabler.
“In 2016, Colt announced a major investment in a next generation optical and packet network as a key enabler to our high-bandwidth strategy,” commented Rajiv Datta, Colt’s COO, via a press release. “Since then, we have actively served the growing needs of enterprises and providers to connect to the cloud and to bring that scale to their end user locations with our highly distributed fibre network. The response from our customers has been strong and this further investment ensures that we will continue to be at the forefront of serving high bandwidth connectivity needs.”
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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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