Telesat picks Ciena for LEO terrestrial network
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Telesat picks Ciena for LEO terrestrial network

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Telesat is to deploy routing and switching platforms from Ciena for its Telesat Lightspeed terrestrial backhaul network.

Ciena’s routing and switching technology will give Telesat a modern, cost-effective network that leverages emerging technologies including network functions virtualisation and edge computing to support both existing and future customer requirements.

“As the leading provider of aggregated, global Tier 1 carrier connectivity, Ciena’s field-proven routing and switching technology will ensure flexible, reliable connectivity between our Earth station antennas and Points of Presence throughout the world," said Aneesh Dalvi, director of landing stations and user terminals, Telesat

"The seamless integration of on-ground data networks with our advanced Telesat Lightspeed satellites will ensure unmatched speed and performance for our global enterprise and government customers.”

The Telesat Lightspeed network will initially be comprised of 298 advanced Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites that 'seamlessly' integrate with terrestrial networks.

Ciena will supply hardware and software that will deliver high-speed, high-capacity connections to governments, telcos, mobile operators, and other enterprise customers for the delivery of 5G, cloud computing, video, and other bandwidth-intensive broadband services.

Specifically, Telesat will use Ciena’s 3926 and 5170 platforms to provide assured MEF-compliant services at its points of presence, as well as terrestrial connectivity to up to 50 Earth-based landing stations.

The Ciena platforms have advanced quality of service mechanisms, including hierarchical ingress metering, that will provide Telesat with granular control of network traffic. While Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan domain controller will provide software control and automation and Telesat will use Ciena Services for terrestrial network design, implementation, and testing.

“Telesat’s enterprise customers—MNOs, ISPs, aviation, and maritime companies—are seeking high-throughput, super-low-latency connectivity to support delay-sensitive applications like cloud-based services," said Bruce Hembree, vice president and general manager of the Americas, Ciena

"Telesat Lightspeed, powered by Ciena networking technology on the ground, makes reliable satellite broadband at fibre-like speeds possible.”

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