Vodafone NZ taps Ciena for 800G rollout

News and Business

Vodafone New Zealand is to deploy 800G technology using Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optics between its data centres in Auckland. Vodafone says it is achieving record transmission speeds to support growing, yet constantly fluctuating, demands for digital services while enabling a greener network.

By implementing Ciena’s WL5e, Vodafone says it can better manage network requirements to support its recently launched 5G service. The internet provider will also be able to offer a broad range of digital services by scaling from 200G up to 800G single wavelengths to optimise capacity across any distance while lowering costs. Vodafone is leveraging its existing Ciena 6500 shelves, doubling the data throughput for each hardware module deployed and reducing energy consumption by 50 percent.

“Ciena’s innovative 800G coherent optics enable Vodafone New Zealand to execute on our vision to provide New Zealanders with access to the world’s best digital services. With Ciena’s WL5e, Vodafone will provide increased bandwidth for a plethora of data-hungry applications, especially necessary as we’ve seen both increases and spikes of data used during the past few months, a trend that is only set to continue as remote working becomes more widespread and New Zealand gears up for a more digitally-focused future,” says Tony Baird, wholesale and infrastructure director at Vodafone. “The highly advanced data transport system has been deployed together with Vodafone’s optical partner Ciena and test equipment experts VIAVI.”

“Today’s networks need to adapt and adjust quickly to meet rising connectivity demands. WL5e delivers increased scale, performance and efficiency, transforming Vodafone New Zealand’s network to bring exciting new applications and services to life,” says Rick Seeto, vice president and general manager of Asia-Pacific and Japan, Ciena.

For more information, visit www.ciena.com