Colt plans European bandwidth assault with packet-optical equipment from Ciena
Pan-European carrier Colt Technology Services is deploying Ciena’s packet-optical technology to future proof its network against the bandwidth demands of its customers driven by the explosion of IT applications, data, content and cloud computing.
Colt announced this month that it plans to invest more than €200 million in 2017 to expand its business. The planned investment will triple the number of sites in its network capable of providing 100G enabled Ethernet and IP connectivity, and increase optical capacity up to 9.6Tb/s per site.
Colt’s partnership with Ciena lays the foundations for this bandwidth push across its 100G-enabled metro and multi-terabit backbone networks. Colt has deployed Ciena’s 6500 packet-optical platform to deliver ultra-high bandwidth services for enterprise and data centre interconnect (DCI) customer applications across Europe.
The network upgrade supports growth across several key European markets including London, Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam, as well as improving intercontinental connections into Asia including Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Ciena’s 6500 platform, powered by WaveLogic coherent technology, provides Colt with the ability to initially deliver services up to 100G over of a mix of 100G and 200G wavelengths, laying the groundwork to provide higher bit-rate services of 200G, 400G and Flexible Ethernet services in the future.
Service providers need flexible, scalable and programmable optical solutions to stay ahead of the curve and reach a broader base of customers, says Ciena. With the programmability and flexibility offered with WaveLogic, Colt can tailor the technology to meet its unique network requirements, including multi-vendor interoperability within their network.
“As the applications and infrastructure that power businesses increasingly move into the cloud and the data centre, the demand for reliable, scalable, and high-quality, business-grade connectivity continues to grow,” said Rajiv Datta, CTO, Colt Technology Services. “By partnering with leading technology firms like Ciena, we are signalling our commitment to providing the intelligent, high-bandwidth networks enterprises require. Our new network will hugely benefit customers across Europe and Asia.”
