O2 rolling out 100G fiber network across UK

O2, the commercial brand of Telefónica UK Ltd., is deploying a 100-Gbps fiber-optic network across the UK using equipment from Ciena (NYSE:CIEN), the systems house says. The fiber network will connect such major cities as London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Liverpool to enable O2 to meet the increasing demands of data center and network virtualization traffic, Ciena explains.

Ciena says that O2 has selected the vendor's 6500 Packet-Optical platform equipped with packet switch modules to combine ROADM functionality and integrate packet transport and optical transport for increased efficiency. O2 also will use Ciena's OneControl Unified Management System for service visualization and network diagnostics, and will take advantage of several elements of Ciena Specialist Services portfolio, including network planning, installation, and turn-up services.

"This network enhancement is a great example of O2's commitment to our mission to provide our customers with a superior user experience," asserts Brendan O'Reilly, CTO of O2. "By selecting Ciena's 6500 Packet-Optical Platform and unified management solutions we will ensure that we have a high-speed and scalable network that can meet our customers' demands and provide the foundation needed for high bandwidth consuming services."

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