Aqua Comms, Ciena trial 150Gbps on AEConnect

Aqua Comms, Ciena trial 150Gbps on AEConnect

Aqua Comms has successfully trialled Ciena’s 150Gbps per wavelength 8QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) technology, which, if fully deployed, would increase the capacity of the America-Europe Connect (AEConnect) subsea cable by 50%.

Ciena’s WaveLogic 3 Extreme transmission technology on the €300 million AEConnect, connecting New York and London via Dublin, empowers 50% more capacity per channel with 150Gbps per wavelength and provides high-capacity data centre interconnectivity (DCI), enhancing spectral efficiency and reach over vast transoceanic distances.

“Ciena’s submarine leadership combined with their consultative approach makes them a valuable partner that understands the business environment of our customers too,” said Greg Varisco, CEO of Aqua Comms.

“Aqua Comms’ network is designed to meet the specific application and business requirements of content providers, cloud-based networks, data centres, IT companies and the global media.”

Ian Clarke, senior director of submarine systems at Ciena, added: “With global data creation and transmission skyrocketing, investment in submarine network infrastructure is essential. This trial demonstrates Aqua Comms’ ability to quickly and easily adjust its long-haul network capacity to meet the present and future needs of its international data centre interconnect and web-scale customers.”

The news comes two weeks after the owner and operator of the trans-Atlantic cable network established a point pf presence (PoP) at 1025Connect, the network interconnection and colocation facility situated in Long Island, New York.

Aqua Comms has also selected and signed a €5 million deal with Eir, for its wholesale arm, Open Eir, to provide data centre connectivity as AEConnect comes ashore in Ireland and back in July CenturyLink activated two 100G waves of high capacity connectivity on AEConnect.

“AEConnect will initially support 13Tbps (130 x 100 Gbps), however, with the introduction of more advanced modulations, including 8QAM, this will continue to increase,” a release added.





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