Leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, Huawei, has been selected by Saudi Telecom Company (STC) to supply new solutions to the company’s next-generation metro WDM networks in Saudi Arabia. 

STC has developed IPTV and mobile broadband services in recent years, rapidly expanding the growth of its metro network services in Saudi Arabia. It is now facing an urgent demand to construct “ultra-bandwidth” metro networks, a statement from the company said.

Utilising Huawei’s metro WDM products, STC will be the first operator in the Middle East to leverage world-leading photonic integrated device (PID) technology to save on both space and power usage of its network operations.

“The PID technology helps us construct advanced metro WDM networks, provide multi-granularity services quickly and easily, and serve our customers more agilely,” said Khaled I Al-Dharrab, transport network director of STC.

“Due to its simple design and structure, PID technology makes it easier to deploy and maintain next-generation metro WDM networks,” he said.

The technology greatly simplifies the WDM architecture by integrating multiple key photonic components of the WDM system - such as lasers, modulators, detectors, multiplexers and demultiplexers - into a 5cm PID chip. “Compared to a traditional WDM network, a PID-enabled WDM network can save up to 50% of space and power and 90% of the fiber connection,” Al-Dharrab added. 

“Bringing new technologies to market within the kingdom, we look forward to working with STC on this endeavor as a means for developing more efficient, environmentally-friendly ICT systems,” said Wu Weitao, general manager, Huawei Saudi Arabia.

Huawei is an industry leader in the area of WDM development and has successfully applied its PID technology around the world, including in Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and further abroad.

It ranked number one in the global optical network market and the WDM/OTN market in Q4 2011, according to consultancy firm Ovum. – TradeArabia News Service