100G coherent technology provides programmable, high-capacity services over 9,600km trans-pacific cable between Japan and U.S. West Coast

Ciena® Corporation (NYSE: CIEN), the network specialist, and Pacnet, a leading provider of integrated technology solutions in the Asia-Pacific region, today announced the completion of an upgrade to the company’s trans-Pacific link connecting the U.S. West Coast to Japan. Faced with an exploding market for bandwidth-intensive applications and data center services, Pacnet expanded its network to offer a suite of high-capacity OTN and Ethernet services to meet customer demand while reducing cost-per-bit. In addition, the enhanced programmable 100G network solution allows for bandwidth agility to deliver scalable capacity that is configurable by both enterprise and carrier customers for a high-performance and cloud-ready network.

Key Facts:

  • As a leading provider of integrated technology solutions in the Asia-Pacific region, Pacnet delivers high-performance technology solutions over 46,000 kilometers of submarine cable systems. It manages two of the five fiber pairs on this trans-Pacific cable, which it co-owns with five other global telecom partners.
  • Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, powered by WaveLogic 3 coherent optical processors, combines advanced digital signal processing with soft-decision forward error correction to achieve reliable performance across long distances. The flexibility of Ciena’s WaveLogic 3 technology gives Pacnet the ability to extend its network reach without straining performance.
  • In addition, Ciena’s WaveLogic 3-based submarine solution is equipped with integrated test capabilities that provide Pacnet with critical information about its network health, capacity and resilience, allowing it to leverage network resources efficiently and proactively without complex and expensive external testing gear.
  • With Ciena’s OneControl Unified Management System, Pacnet has a complete view of its network performance and can provide streamlined service activation, fault management and remote troubleshooting. OneControl’s ability to isolate the precise location of a fiber fault is significant, especially with the complexity of repairing a network disruption on cables in the extreme conditions of the Pacific Ocean.
  • By applying Ciena’s OPnarchitecture for programmable network infrastructures that deliver much lower cost-at-scale, Pacnet can also provide fast and efficient service provisioning and turn-up.
  • Ciena is also providing a range of professional services for this deployment via its Specialist Services portfolio, including consulting, test and turn-up assistance.

Executive Comments:

  • “We manage submerged cables in some of the world’s most extreme climates and our customers demand high-end services that can perform consistently. This trans-Pacific cable is critical to our business and we know that we are pushing the limits of current networking technology in terms of reach and performance. Ciena’s packet optical and software platforms enable us to bring new capacity online quickly to support our newly launched Pacnet Enabled Network, the first Pan-Asia Network-as-a-Service architecture.”
    Andy Lumsden, chief technology officer, Pacnet
  • “Ciena’s submarine networking solutions simplify network architectures and operations, giving our customers a competitive edge. With advanced software features, such as integrated test set and real-time system optimization, we are transforming service provider networks to be more intelligent, enabling them to deliver the best possible connectivity to meet their end customer demands. When moving critical customer data across the Pacific Ocean, reliability is key. Our submarine solutions have been proven in some of the harshest geographies around the world.”
    -
    Ed McCormack, vice president and general manager of submarine systems at Ciena

Ciena at PTC:

  • Ciena representatives will be at PTC 2014 in Honolulu, Hawaii from January 19-22. Steve Alexander, senior vice president and Chief Technology Officer at Ciena will participate in the panel The Naked Truth about Submarine Cables on January 19 at 9:00am and Service Excellence in International Telecommunications on January 21 at 1:30pm. Brian Lavallée, product and technology marketing at Ciena will participate in the panel Submarine Cable Developments – The New Norms! on January 21 at 8:30am.

Technology Background:

  • Ciena's      WaveLogic coherent optical processors maximize reach, capacity,      flexibility, and reliability of submarine networks with an operational      focus on ease-of-deployment and cost efficiency. WaveLogic leverages      industry-leading optical networking technology advancements that together      offer network operators several key benefits, over and above simply moving      to 100G line rates.
  • Ciena      is the pioneer and market leader of coherent optical technology with      30,000 coherent 40G/100G line interfaces shipped to over 150 customers      across the globe, with more than 31 million coherent kilometers deployed.
  • Ciena’s      converged packet optical platforms with WaveLogic coherent optical      technology give service providers significant bandwidth scalability,      reliability and network intelligence – all key building blocks of an OPn network      architecture.

Supporting Resources:

About PacnetPacnet is Asia-Pacific’s leading provider of integrated technology solutions for carrier and enterprises in the region. Ownership of the region’s most extensive high-capacity submarine cable systems with over 46,000 km of fiber and connectivity to interconnected data centers across 14 cities in the Asia-Pacific region gives Pacnet unparalleled reach to major business centers in key markets including China, India, Japan and the United States. Combined with a comprehensive set of managed network and value-added data center services, its assets and experience in the region have helped Pacnet service large businesses worldwide including Fortune 500 companies. Pacnet is headquartered in Hong Kong and Singapore, with offices in all key markets in the Asia-Pacific region and North America. For more information, please visit: www.pacnet.com.

About CienaCiena (NYSE: CIEN) is the network specialist. We collaborate with customers worldwide to unlock the strategic potential of their networks and fundamentally change the way they perform and compete. Ciena leverages its deep expertise in packet and optical networking and distributed software automation to deliver solutions in alignment  with its OPn architecture for next-generation networks. We enable a high-scale, programmable infrastructure that can be controlled and adapted by network-level applications, and provide open interfaces to coordinate computing, storage and network resources in a unified, virtualized environment. For updates on Ciena news, follow us on Twitter @Ciena or on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/ciena. Investors are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website at www.ciena.com/investors, where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use.

Note to Ciena Investors
Forward-looking statements.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and Ciena's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-K, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 20, 2013. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.