A telecommunications company based in Chapecó, Brazil, Acessoline Telecom (ALT) provides services such as data center interconnect (DCI), metro, and long haul to the corporate, residential, government, and wholesale markets.

ALT, like most network providers, has seen bandwidth consumption rise steeply since the pandemic due to work from home and increased streaming demands. And like many telcos, ALT also faces pricing pressures—customers increasingly expect more capacity for the same cost. In this environment, maintaining revenue growth and customer satisfaction is challenging.

One way to accomplish this is through capex (capital expenditure) optimization. Recent optical technology innovations make it possible to transport more traffic per fiber with fewer transponders, lowering the cost per bit.

In 2020, ALT set out to modernize its network utilizing Ciena’s Waveserver Ai compact interconnect platform. The coherent optical solution transports more bits per wavelength, up to 400Gbps, allowing the network provider to address the massive bandwidth requirements placed on its network. The result is higher density, more fiber capacity, less hardware, less power, and less cost. Not only do these benefits pay dividends immediately, but also on an ongoing basis. Because the equipment supports the network evolution longer, it helps decrease TCO (total cost of ownership).

“Ciena’s solution allowed us to increase capacity fourfold, jumping from 100Gbps to 400Gbps—and do so at a lower cost per bit,” said Gilmar Balbinot, Director of Operations and Relationship, ALT. “We invested in the best technology and were able to cut capex in half, solving a pain point.”

Another way that regional providers can reduce costs and scale operations is via infrastructure sharing. Through partnership agreements, ALT swaps fiber, capacity, and channels with other providers and shares hardware expenses, leading to efficiencies that allow the network provider to operate with more scalability at a lower cost—and make continuing investments in its network.

“The enhancements we’ve made to our network allow us to operate more efficiently and provide better experiences and more value to our customers,” said Balbinot.

Learn more about ALT here.