Interoute Completes First European PIC-based 100G Transmission on Subsea Network
Infinera’s PIC-Based Coherent 100G Transmission to Enable Interoute to Expand Network Capacity
London and Sunnyvale, CA on 2 March 2011
Interoute and Infinera (Nasdaq: INFN) have completed a demonstration of Infinera’s new 500 Gigabits/second (Gb/s) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) successfully delivering 100Gb/s channels on the Interoute pan-European network. Interoute, whose pan-European network was the first in Europe to deploy Infinera’s 100Gb/s photonic integrated circuits more than three years ago, is planning to use Infinera’s next generation systems based on 100Gb/s channels enabled by 500 Gb/s PICs to ensure it continues to lead the way in supporting Europe’s insatiable demand for high capacity bandwidth. Interoute’s Next Generation Network is the most advanced in Europe and Interoute is working closely with Infinera as Infinera brings to market a high-capacity solution based on coherent transmission of 100Gb/s channels.
The demonstration took place between Amsterdam and London. The 100Gb/s channels originated in Amsterdam and traveled under the North Sea to London, where they were looped back and returned to Amsterdam, for a total distance of 940 kilometers (km). The signals were received error-free despite a lengthy unrepeatered subsea link of 210 km between the Dutch and English coasts. Each 100Gb/s channel is capable of carrying over 200,000* simultaneous Video Conferences between London and Amsterdam, or over 1.5 million** telephone conversations. This is the first demonstration of Infinera’s PIC-based 100Gb/s channels transmitted on a European network.
The coherent 100Gb/s channels were transmitted on fiber simultaneously carrying 200Gb/s of live traffic over 10Gb/s channels, demonstrating that the Infinera Line System (ILS) can carry both types of optical signals without interference. Interoute is planning to introduce PIC-based 100Gb/s channels next year, to enable customers to enjoy a seamless transition to the new era of high-capacity bandwidth.
Gareth Williams, Interoute’s CEO commented “Interoute’s network is used by all the major incumbents as well as thousands of international enterprises who rely on its resilient high capacity and low latency connectivity. In the service provider market Interoute is attracting an increasing number of operators looking to outsource part or all of their European networks; innovative technologies like Infinera’s 500Gb/s PICs ensure that the network infrastructure is as advanced as Interoute’s expertise needed to support these critical projects.”
“We are encouraged that Interoute is once again leading the industry towards the next generation of network technology by choosing to deploy Infinera’s 500Gb/s PICs,” said Infinera president and CEO Tom Fallon. “We are confident that our next generation solution will once again leverage the disruptive economics of PICs, offering a system with pervasive switched DWDM capacity throughout the network, superior network economics, and the ability for the end-customer to get any service deployed anywhere in the network with unbeatable speed of service delivery.”
Infinera’s new 500Gb/s PICs each integrate five 100G channels. With Infinera’s FlexCoherent™ technology, the network operator can select the optimal modulation format to use for each route on the network. In this demonstration, the 100Gb/s channels were transmitted using PM-QPSK modulation and coherent detection to optimize for optical reach. Infinera’s 500G PIC receivers use integrated local oscillators to enable coherent detection of the signals. The pair of 500G PICs integrates more than 600 optical devices, a tenfold increase from today’s 100Gb/s PICs which are widely deployed in long-haul and metro networks worldwide.
* Based on standard definition point to point video conference call at 512kb/s ** Based on standard telephone call at 64kb/s
About Infinera
Infinera provides Digital Optical Networking systems to telecommunications carriers worldwide. Infinera’s systems are unique in their use of a breakthrough semiconductor technology: the photonic integrated circuit (PIC). Infinera’s systems and PIC technology are designed to provide customers with simpler and more flexible engineering and operations, faster time-to-service, and the ability to rapidly deliver differentiated services without reengineering their optical infrastructure. For more information, please visit http://www.infinera.com
About Interoute
Interoute is the owner/operator of Europe’s most advanced and densely connected voice and data network, encompassing over 60,000 km of lit fibre, 8 Data Centres, 32 purpose-built colocation centres and on-net to another 150 partner Data Centres across the European footprint. Interoute’s full-service next generation network serves international enterprises from a broad range of sectors including aerospace, automotive, finance, pharmaceutical and retail, plus every major European incumbent, as well as the major operators of North America, East and South Asia, governments, universities and research agencies. These organisations find Interoute the ideal partner for hosting content, providing wholesale bandwidth and transit services, corporate connectivity or creating new services. With established operations throughout mainland Europe, in North America and Dubai, Interoute also owns and operates dense city networks throughout Europe’s major business centres. Providing service and support in 15 European languages, Interoute is a key part of Europe’s Digital Supply Chain. The network is future-proofed, endowed with Europe’s largest fibre and duct reserve, and is a leader in the deployment of advanced network technologies, from the ground to the Cloud. www.interoute.com
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to Infinera as of the date hereof; and actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Infinera’s expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including that the capacity will scale up to 8 Terabits/second of fiber capacity supporting Europe’s insatiable demand for high capacity bandwidth; that Infinera is bringing to market a coherent 100Gb/s solution based on the disruptive economics of PICs; and that Infinera’s next generation solution will leverage the disruptive economics of PICs, offering a system with pervasive switched DWDM capacity throughout the network, superior network economics, and the ability for the end-customer to get any service deployed anywhere in the network with unbeatable speed of service delivery Such forward-looking statements can be identified by forward-looking words such as “anticipated,” “believed,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or similar words. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include aggressive business tactics by our competitors, our dependence on a single product, our ability to protect our intellectual property, claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property, and our ability to respond to rapid technological changes, and other risks that may impact any of the group’s business are set forth in their annual reports on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 1, 2010, as well as subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date hereof and we disclaim any obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
