Lumen Technologies recently upgraded over 24,000 route miles across its U.S. intercity network with new ultra-low-loss fiber capable of supporting wavelength services up to 400G and faster.
Lumen is continuing to deploy Corning's SMF-28 ULL fiber and SMF-28 Ultra fiber in its multi-conduit infrastructure.
Lumen also confirmed plans for another 6 million fiber miles, expected to be installed by 2026.
"We are creating a next-gen network, and fiber type matters," said Andrew Dugan, Lumen chief technology officer. "As demand for optical fiber increases and technology evolves, Lumen's multi-conduit infrastructure means we can install the latest fiber type quickly and economically. It's difficult to upgrade legacy intercity networks without multiple conduits. These networks end up being stuck with older fiber technology. Lumen is fixing that issue with our upgraded technology. We can extend signal reach to help reduce equipment costs and increase bandwidth capacity. Using ultra-low-loss fiber on the Lumen network is a major component of what differentiates us from other network providers."