India’s Vodafone Idea ups fiber backbone networks to 300G/400G via Ciena
With an eye toward the requirements of its 5G mobile roll out, Vodafone Idea Ltd. (Vi) will leverage optical transport technology from Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) to upgrade its fiber backbone networks across India to support 300G/400G transmission. The service provider, established as a partnership between Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group, as collaborated with technology suppliers, ecosystem players, and Indian startups to create various 5G use cases for Indian enterprises and consumers that it expects will drive backbone capacity growth.
“Escalating demand for data requires a high-capacity and resilient network that can thrive not only today but for years to come,” commented Jagbir Singh, CTO, Vodafone Idea Ltd. “Preparing a future-fit network, through our partnership with Ciena, will enable Vi subscribers to experience world-class highly available, scalable connectivity and realize the benefits of cloud, IoT, and 5G in future.”
Vi has deployed the Ciena 6500 packet-optical transport platform equipped with the technology supplier’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optical engine that will support transmission rates as high as 800 Gbps. The service provider also will leverage Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller to facilitate fiber network optimization.
“Today’s competitive environment requires operators like Vi to operate a higher performing network with maximum agility at a lower cost per bit,” commented Ryan Perera, vice president and general manager of Ciena India. “With the network playing an increasingly important role to support digital applications today, Vi’s transformed network is ready for prime time.”
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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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