QCN Fibre is rolling out Ciena’s Waveserver Ai compact interconnect platform powered with programmable 400G coherent optics across its edge environment. Leveraging its DWDM infrastructure, QCN Fibre is also deploying Ciena’s MEF 3.0 certified 5170 Platform.

QCN Fibre continues to build coverage, capacity, and competition in Queensland. The organisation announced today that it can provide backhaul to all Queensland NBN Points of Interface (PoI).

QCN Fibre’s initial work program involved connecting its existing fibre network to six regional NBN PoIs in Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, and Cairns.

“Our launch strategy was to activate services to these key regional centres by mid-2020. We have achieved that,” said QCN Fibre’s Chief Executive Officer, Derek Merdith. “Now, we continue to improve Coverage, Capacity and Competition throughout Queensland, through connecting to all 22 NBN PoIs.”

“As a small and dynamic organisation, we can quickly adapt our strategies to meet our customers’ needs. When we inspected the more than 12,000km of fibre we inherited from our parent companies, Energy Queensland and Powerlink, and considered current market conditions, connecting to all 22 PoIs became both technically achievable and a competitive necessity.”

“Today, there are only two primary backhaul providers to the six regional PoIs. Whilst NBN provides some competition, small ISPs must ultimately rely on a limited range of suppliers for backhaul services from the PoI to Brisbane. Regional backhaul currently costs several times that of metropolitan backhaul.”

“QCN Fibre’s NBN backhaul strategy is critical in supporting local businesses across regional Queensland. Through lowering backhaul prices, our customers should be able to lower the cost of NBN business grade services to our regions. Levelling the playing field means that NBN Internet Service Providers can compete with the national carriers,” Merdith said.

QCN Fibre is rolling out Ciena’s (NYSE: CIEN) Waveserver Ai compact interconnect platform powered with programmable 400G coherent optics across its edge environment. Leveraging its DWDM infrastructure, QCN Fibre is also deploying Ciena’s MEF 3.0 certified 5170 Platform.

QCN Fibre will offer 1GbE, 10GbE and 100GbE NBN backhaul options. QCN Fibre are planning to provide VNNI backhaul services to further assist smaller local ISPs scale and grow and minimise the need to invest in expensive infrastructure.

“Ciena enables QCN to transform its network to meet new dynamic requirements for connectivity, especially in remote and rural areas across Queensland,” said Matt Vesperman, Managing Director, Australia & New Zealand, Ciena. “With increased capacity delivered by Ciena, QCN is building a more efficient, reliable and scalable network.”

Until recently, regional Queensland has been challenged with telecommunications costs that are significantly higher than metropolitan charges. This has included limited difference between prices offered by major providers, including NBN, and the high cost of backhaul.

NBN’s announcement that Enterprise Ethernet pricing will be reduced in some regional areas goes some way to reducing the digital divide, but the reductions are not across the whole of Queensland.

“We can’t resolve NBN’s regional pricing challenge, but we can improve the backhaul commercials for our customers,” said CEO Derek Merdith.

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking systems, services and software company. We provide solutions that help our customers create the Adaptive Network^TM in response to the constantly changing demands of their end-users. By delivering best-in-class networking technology through high-touch consultative relationships, we build the world’s most agile networks with automation, openness and scale. For updates on Ciena, follow us on Twitter @Ciena, LinkedIn , the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

Note to Ciena Investors
You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, 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. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, forecasts, information and assumptions. These statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those stated or implied, because of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our  expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies and can be identified by 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.

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a global leader in networking systems, services, and software. We build the most adaptive networks in the industry, enabling customers to anticipate and meet ever-increasing digital demands. For three-plus decades, Ciena has brought our humanity to our relentless pursuit of innovation. Prioritizing collaborative relationships with our customers, partners, and communities, we create flexible, open, and sustainable networks that better serve all users—today and into the future. For updates on Ciena, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

Note to Ciena Investors
You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, 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. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, forecasts, information and assumptions. These statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties.  Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those stated or implied, because of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our  expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies and can be identified by 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.