Submarine cable system connecting Norway and the UK achieves milestone that will facilitate a new era of connectivity between the countries

NO-UK, the state-of-the-art submarine cable system between Norway and the United Kingdom (UK), has achieved a record-breaking 800Gb/s line rate using Ciena’s (NYSE: CIEN) GeoMesh Extreme, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optical technology. This will allow NO-UK to deliver its customers greater capacity, faster speeds and a greener offering through lower energy consumption.

NO-UK’s open submarine cable system, featuring eight fiber pairs, runs for 700km between Stavanger (Norway) and Newcastle (UK) and is the shortest low-latency direct submarine route between the two nations. The system was developed by Altibox Carrier, which owns and operates fiber-optic cables, and supplied by Xtera, a turnkey provider of subsea systems. The project is managed by specialist consultants SubSea Networks Ltd.

Altibox selected Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, leveraging Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme technology and 6500 Packet-Optical Platforms, supporting up to 35Tb/s per fiber pair—the highest capacity achieved to date across a repeatered submarine network. The design and cable validation exercise was conducted according to the new International Telecoms Union (ITU) submarine cable standard for open cables, known as ITU-T G.977.1.

Svein Arild Ims, Director at Altibox Carrier, said: “NO-UK has been developed to support the evolving requirements of businesses in Norway. We wanted it to deliver the highest bandwidth and capacity available across a submarine network in a sustainable way, and Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, combined with Xtera’s unique wide-bandwidth and low-noise repeater design, has achieved exactly that. The network has exceeded our expectations in every way and sets the standard for future connectivity between Norway and the UK.”

Ian Clarke, Vice President of Global Submarine Solutions at Ciena, added: “Ciena continues to push the limits of submarine cable networks, achieving 800Gb/s line rate—another industry first. With more capacity and lower cost-per-bit, lower power consumption and lower ongoing operational costs, the solution provides a modern and environmentally friendly network for Altibox’s NO-UK customers.”

About NO-UK Com

NO-UK Com is the consortium building the fibre cable between Norway - UK connection and comprises Altibox Carrier as the operator, Lyse, Haugaland Kraft, Eviny, Ryfylke IKS, Green Mountain, Polysys and Hatteland Group. The NO-UK cable is an open cable system providing a total of eight dark fibre pairs from Stavanger to Newcastle. Through Altibox Carrier the consortium can offer dark fibre or capacity backhaul routes to any major PoP in the Nordics or UK.

About Altibox Carrier

Altibox Carrier owns, operates and builds fibre optic cables connecting end-users to content and enterprises to the digital cloud. Altibox Carrier offers dark fibre or capacity backhaul routes to any major PoP in the Nordics, UK and Europe. Visit www.altiboxcarrier.com for details.

About Xtera

Xtera is an innovative provider of subsea systems and telecoms technology. The company supplies repeatered networks, delivering traffic directly inland to data centres and cities. Xtera’s turnkey project management expertise and system integration capability is offered in combination with solid industry partnerships and provides operators with the confidence for Xtera to design, build and commission high performance submarine cable solutions. Visit www.xtera.com for more information.

About SubSea Networks

SubSea Networks Ltd. provides high quality consultancy and implementation services to subsea communications system investors, developers, owners and network operators. Offering commercial expertise and management of submarine cable projects from a cohesive and dynamic team, with extensive knowledge gained from many years of direct industry experience. SubSea Networks provide support across a wide range of subsea skill sets without compromising on delivering the highest level of expertise and personal service. To learn more, visit www.subseanetworks.com.

About Ciena

Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking systems, services and software company. We provide solutions that help our customers create the Adaptive Network™ 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.

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