GBI, Xtera launch 100G Red Sea-Milan link
Doha, October 17, 2012
Gulf Bridge International (GBI) and Xtera Communications have launched full 100G connectivity between Zafarana cable landing station in Egypt on the Red Sea and Milan Point-of-Presence (PoP) in Italy.
GBI is Middle East’s first carrier neutral regional network.
Xtera, a leading provider of optical networking solutions, deployed its multi-purpose Nu-Wave Optima platform in submarine and terrestrial line terminal equipment configurations delivering 100G waves in both the subsea and land sections of the 5,000-km Zafarana-to-Milan route, said a statement.
The subsea section across the Mediterranean Sea connects Abu Talat, Egypt to Mazara del Vallo, Italy and has been in service since the first quarter of 2012. It is the first commercial repeatered submarine cable system with 100G technology, it said.
Working and protect routes compose both terrestrial sections in Egypt and Italy to ensure the highest network availability. The 4,900-km Italy backhaul network was deployed on a mix of fiber types and characteristics.
The Italy and Egypt backhaul networks are believed to be the first commercial systems in the world with installed design capacity of 90 x 100G, the statement said.
To ensure maximal network resiliency, colorless and directionless Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs) are used for restoration of the traffic in the event of fiber plant failures.
The Zafarana-to-Milan route has its first 100G end-to-end connection with GBI offering routes from Europe to the Middle East and on to Asia. GBI is counting on the most advanced optical networking technology developments to deliver new services to the Middle East and beyond.
The 100G line transmission rate deployment, which was announced nine months ago, is playing a key role in GBI’s service delivery strategy, it said.
“We are pleased to be working with Xtera to achieve this landmark 100G deployment in the Mediterranean,” commented Ahmed Mekky, board member and CEO of GBI. ”Today’s announcement reflects our ongoing commitment to be the region’s most advanced subsea cable operator and to ensure that our customers benefit from the latest technological advancements.”
Xtera’s Nu-Wave Optima platform is a unique modular optical transport system designed to lower the total cost of ownership by using a common, integrated set of modules for long-haul, unrepeatered and regional repeatered submarine applications.
The Nu-Wave Optima configuration for regional repeatered submarine cable system includes a line monitoring module used for the supervision of the submerged repeaters. – TradeArabia News Service
