Ciena Secures 100G Contract with BT

Ciena announced a contract to supply coherent 100G solutions to BT, including its 6500 and 4200 platforms. BT will leverage Ciena's multi-layer, multi-domain management suite – OneControl – for seamless management. Financial terms were not disclosed.


The initial roll-out, which is scheduled to begin by end of calendar 2011, will include a single photonic layer covering BT's extensive network throughout the UK. The intelligent infrastructure will be based on Ciena's 6500 Packet-Optical Platform equipped with WaveLogic coherent optical processors that support 10G and 40G/100G wavelengths working side by side. The 6500 platform will also offer integrated OTN switching with advanced control plane functionality.

Ciena noted that has been a strategic supplier to BT since 2003. Ciena serves as the foundation for much of BT's existing infrastructure, spanning high-capacity transport and advanced optical switching domains with more than 7,000 network elements deployed across Europe. http://www.ciena.com