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For the second time in less than a week, Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) and Reliance Globalcom have revealed that the latter will use equipment from the former in a network upgrade. The latest announcement covers the upgrade of Reliance Globalcom’s FNAL backhaul network in Asia.

Reliance Globalcom will use Ciena’s 100-Gbps enabled 6500 Packet-Optical Platform in the FNAL upgrade. The service provider now will use 40-Gbps OTN-based wavelengths across FNAL subsea segments, and between its Taipei and Seoul points-of-presence (PoPs). The upgrade enables Reliance Globalcom to offer bandwidth speeds ranging from 1 Gbps to 40 Gbps, with an option for 2.5 Gbps and 10 Gbps between its PoPs. This upgrade to the terrestrial portion of FNAL complements an earlier 40-Gbps deployment on the undersea segment (see "Reliance Globalcom adds 40-Gbps coherent to FNAL submarine cable network").

“Asia is currently among the leading regions where the Internet and broadband penetration rates are high but there is still a significant potential for bandwidth growth. Reliance Globalcom is committed to meet this growth by upgrading its network consistently in a cost-effective manner with the latest transmission technologies like OTN,” according to Punit Garg, president and CEO of Reliance Globalcom.

Last week, the two companies announced that Reliance Globalcom will use the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform on its its FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) submarine network (see “Reliance Globalcom picks Ciena for 100G submarine cable upgrade”).

“High-bandwidth applications such as video and cloud computing continue to put pressure on today’s networks, requiring carriers like Reliance to deploy technologies that not only increase capacity but also provide more intelligent, adaptable networks,” said Anthony McLachlan, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Ciena.

Fujitsu, via Fujitsu Network Communications in the U.S., has upgraded its FLASHWAVE 4100 ES Micro Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP). The upcoming Version 9.1 of the packet-optical transport platform will add multipoint transmission capabilities to the system, enabling integrated OC-192 network access and OC-48 service access and Gigabit Ethernet service delivery. The ES Micro Packet ONP will support of Connection Oriented Ethernet (COE) as well as enable operators to offer Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) certified E-Line services.

The systems house expects the new capabilities to play particularly well in mobile backhaul applications as well as utilities’ smart grid networks. The ES Micro now can serve both legacy SONET and packet-based requirements.

The MEF-compliant COE service delivery capabilities provide deterministic quality-of-service performance for the Ethernet virtual connections to minimize packet loss, latency, and jitter. The integrated Y.1731 responder and DS1Network Interface Device eliminate the need for external NIDs while providing remote test access for Ethernet and DS1 services. The system supports sub-50-ms restoration times in the event of failure.

According to James Anthony, principal solutions architect, packet optical networking, at Fujitsu Network Communications, the ES Micro can work with the company’s EOX platform to create bridged Ethernet services for both Ethernet over SONET and Ethernet over copper applications. The growing demand for multipoint services was a driver for development of the Version 9.1 capabilities, he added.

The FLASHWAVE 4100 ES Micro Packet ONP occupies 2RU and comes in an environmentally hardened package to enable use in outdoor cabinets without additional heating or cooling. The system currently is in lab trials, with general availability expected early in the first quarter of next year.

BT has launched the first ever trial of a 10Gbps or ‘hyper-fast’ broadband network in a live working environment.

Cornwall based engineering firm Arcol UK Ltd, is the test site for deployment of the new technology where the service runs in tandem with the company’s existing 330Mbps service on the same fibre.

The proof of concept trial uses new fibre technology called XGPON (Tens of Gibabits on a Passive Optical Network) developed by electronics company ZTE, in partnership with Openreach.

Arcol is connected by a direct fibre link from its offices to BT’s exchange in Truro, and is the first business in the country to enjoy the record-breaking speeds, with more bandwidth available than was used at the highest peak for the entire Olympics media network.

The demonstration aims to show how even faster speeds could be provided over Cornwall’s new fibre infrastructure in the future by upgrading the electronics at the exchange and in user premises.

Potential speeds are so fast that the physical limits of the networking and computer equipment prevent the line from being used at its maximum capacity. And although the direct link between the Truro exchange and Arcol runs at 10Gbps, the company isn’t connected to the wider internet at those speeds as there is nothing that can be done on the web with 10Gbps.

Ranulf Scarbrough, Programme Director for the Superfast Cornwall progamme, said: “What is exciting about this trial is that these hyper-fast speeds have been obtained over the exactly the same fibre that carries BT’s fibre broadband services today. All we are doing is changing the electronics at either end.”

“This trial shows we are thinking and ready for the future even though there are no current plans to deploy this technology. A lot of this project is about future proofing – making sure that it’s not just the fastest speeds today but that we can continue to be at the cutting edge for five, ten, twenty years.”

The 10Gbps trial runs over high speed fibre optic network established by the Superfast Cornwall Programme, a pioneering superfast broadband partnership between the EU, BT and Cornwall Council, which has made fibre optic broadband available to over 100,000 Cornish homes and businesses.

Until recently, Arcol’s 40 staff had shared a 1.5Mbps internet connection. The Superfast Cornwall Programme has delivered high speed fibre-to-the-premise to the business park enabling Arcol to connect at 330Mbps. Alun Morgan, technical director at Arcol, said the ability to connect at such fast speeds was “opening the door” for the company to achieve much more.

"We are still only just discovering the sorts of things we can do with these speeds, such as taking advantage of services like videoconferencing and using a cloud-based ERP system so we can access this information elsewhere, and it has enabled us to be much more efficient and aggressive," Alun Morgan said.

European computing and network services provider Colt Technology Services is now offering 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) services over its long-distance network using DTN platforms from provider Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN).

Colt first deployed the Infinera DTN in 2009 (see “COLT selects Infinera for pan-European network”) and has used the system to provide a variety of services (see “Colt claims low latency of 4.22 ms between London to Frankfurt”). The service provider and Infinera have collaborated on bringing 100GbE services to Colt’s enterprise and wholesale customers for several years, including a 100GbE field trial in 2010.

The new 100GbE services leverage Colt’s European infrastructure, which includes 20 carrier neutral data centers and its long distance network that links 39 metropolitan area networks. Colt’s network includes direct connections to 18,000 buildings across the continent.

“As the company continues to transform from a traditional B2B telecoms operator to a provider of integrated IT and network services, enhancing our Ethernet services capabilities is key to delivering an end to end service experience that matches our customer’s agenda,” said Luke Broome, CTO at Colt. “Our use of the Infinera DTN to deliver 100GbE services on our long distance network will support customers with the highest performance demands in achieving their business priorities.”

“Colt plays an integral role in providing critical network and IT services throughout Europe,” said Chris Champion, vice president, EMEA sales at Infinera. “We are pleased that Colt has chosen us to deliver high speed optical Ethernet services to their customers.”