Pacnet upgrades trans-Pacific submarine cable with Ciena

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) and Asia-Pacific service provider Pacnet say they have completed an upgrade to the company’s 9600-km-long trans-Pacific undersea cable link connecting the U.S. West Coast to Japan. The operator manages two of the five fiber pairs on this trans-Pacific submarine cable, which it co-owns with five other global telecom partners.

Pacnet first announced the move to 100 Gbps last fall (see "Pacnet provides 100G wave services between Asia-Pacific and United States"). The service provider is expanding its network to offer a suite of high-capacity Optical Transport Network (OTN) and Ethernet services to meet customer demand while reducing the cost-per-bit. In addition, Ciena says its programmable 100G network coherent transmission technology will provide Pacnet with bandwidth agility to deliver scalable capacity that is configurable by both enterprise and carrier customers for a high-performance and cloud-ready network.

Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, powered by WaveLogic 3 coherent optical processors, combines advanced digital signal processing with soft-decision forward error correction to achieve reliable performance across long distances. The flexibility of Ciena’s WaveLogic 3 technology gives Pacnet the ability to extend its network reach without straining performance, Ciena says.

In addition, Ciena says the WaveLogic 3-based submarine equipment is equipped with integrated test capabilities that provide Pacnet with information about its network health, capacity, and resilience, enabling it to leverage network resources efficiently and proactively without complex and expensive external testing gear.

Combined with Ciena’s OneControl Unified Management System, the test capabilities provide Pacnet with a complete view of its network performance, Ciena adds. The carrier can provide streamlined service activation, fault management, and remote troubleshooting as well, says the optical transport systems vendor.

“We manage submerged cables in some of the world’s most extreme climates and our customers demand high-end services that can perform consistently,” said Andy Lumsden, chief technology officer, Pacnet. “This trans-Pacific cable is critical to our business and we know that we are pushing the limits of current networking technology in terms of reach and performance. Ciena’s packet optical and software platforms enable us to bring new capacity online quickly to support our newly launched Pacnet Enabled Network, the first Pan-Asia Network-as-a-Service architecture.”

Ciena is also providing a range of professional services for this deployment via its Specialist Services portfolio, including consulting, test and turn-up assistance.

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