Ciena and Telia Norway have successfully completed a live 1.6 Tb/s data transmission trial. This achievement marks an industry-first in the Nordics, particularly over a challenging route between Oslo and Trondheim. The trial utilized Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) technology, which promises significant efficiency improvements.
The WL6e technology is notable for being the industry’s first high-bandwidth coherent transceiver to feature 3nm silicon. This innovative technology can reduce space and power requirements by 50% per bit while supporting 1.6 Tb/s single-carrier wavelengths. These capabilities make WL6e especially suitable for metro ROADM deployments, enhancing network coverage for 800G connectivity.
Global businesses increasingly regard Norway as an attractive destination for building data centers. The country offers affordable energy and favorable climatic conditions. According to Georg Svendsen, CTO of Telia Norway, “This technology milestone with Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 shows our ability to build a more robust and scalable network that can handle growing bandwidth demands and help push forward Norway’s digital progress.”
Virginie Hollebecque, Vice President, EMEA at Ciena, emphasized that this trial builds on a solid track record of industry-firsts in coherent optics for the company. She mentioned that the WL6e could provide a strong foundation for a new optical fabric aimed at supporting AI and data-centric applications. This capability is also seen as a way to capitalize on Norway’s increasing appeal as a data center location.
Apart from this significant trial, Ciena has clinched a deal with Tejays Dynamics in India. The partnership focuses on building an adaptive Internet Protocol (IP) network for enterprise and campus customers. Ciena’s solutions will consolidate 4G/5G networks, thereby offering a flexible and multi-purpose infrastructure.
Praveen Chaudhry, Founder of Tejays, noted their mission to deliver seamless connectivity experiences. “By evolving our network with Ciena’s innovative coherent routing approach, we are capitalizing on new opportunities,” he stated.
This trial follows a similar successful initiative by Verizon, which used Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme in a Boston metro trial. These technological advancements are being pitched as crucial for handling AI workloads, reflecting the growing demand for high-speed network capabilities.
