PCCW Global Partners with Ciena for Submarine Cable Upgrade

Published on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 09:11 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

HONG KONG & LINTHICUM, Md.-( Business Wire )-

PCCW Global, an operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications provider, network specialist, Ciena^® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), today announced an upgrade to the carrier’s subsea network with Ciena’s industry-leading WaveLogic™ coherent optical 100G networking solutions.

This upgrade will significantly increase the capacity beyond the original design of PCCW Global’s North Asia subsea routes, which span approximately 9,800 kilometers to connect Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. This will help PCCW Global meet growing demand from its wholesale and retail customers for high-bandwidth services and applications such as Internet, video and cloud computing, and better serve the many countries that it interconnects globally.

Following a rigorous selection procedure, PCCW Global will deploy Ciena platforms equipped with 100G submarine-cable-grade coherent line interfaces, which are designed to significantly and cost-effectively increase submarine cable network capacity without disrupting existing customer traffic or adding cost or complexity to the network.

Using Ciena’s WaveLogic™ coherent optical 100G networking processors, PCCW Global will light a ring of dark fibers on the RNAL Cable System so that it can support significantly more than its original design capacity. The network will deliver path-resilient cable capacity and interconnectivity with other regional and transpacific submarine cable systems terminating in or transiting through the most popular Asian traffic hubs in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

In addition to the existing network monitoring system, Ciena’s intelligent submarine network solution will allow PCCW Global to actively monitor the health and performance of its existing wet plant, including optical repeaters from third-party vendors, while continuously optimizing traffic-carrying signals in real time to ensure optimal transmission performance is achieved. The Ciena Specialist Services team will work closely with PCCW Global for accurate and timely completion of the design and implementation of the cable capacity upgrade.

Mr. Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer of PCCW Global, said, “With this deployment, we are pleased to be the Asia-based early adopter in deploying coherent 100G technology on a submarine cable system. The network expansion will significantly enhance the capacity of our network, allowing us to better serve our customers and support the delivery of high-performance data networking services and traffic growth driven by smartphones, high definition video, and sophisticated enterprise connectivity applications such as cloud computing.”

Mr. Philippe Morin, Senior Vice President, Global Field Organization, Ciena, said, “Ciena’s technology provides resilience in the world’s most demanding networks and enables the most cost-effective undersea capacity upgrades without having to install new undersea cables. Bringing this technology innovation in coherent optical processing to PCCW Global’s network will boost capacity and improve performance to maintain competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

About PCCW Global

PCCW Global is an operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider which is majority-owned by PCCW Limited.

With centers in Hong Kong, Herndon, Virginia in the US, Paris in France, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, plus teams based in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas, PCCW Global serves the voice and data needs of multinational enterprises, as well as the operational requirements of service providers. Covering more than 1,500 cities and 110 countries, the PCCW Global network supports a portfolio of integrated global communications solutions which include Ethernet solutions, IP solutions, fiber and satellite transmission solutions, managed services and solutions, and voice services. To learn more about PCCW Global, please visit www.pccwglobal.com.

About HKT

HKT (SEHK: 6823) is Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider. It meets the needs of the Hong Kong public and local and international businesses with a wide range of services including local telephony, local data and broadband, international telecommunications, mobile, and other telecommunications businesses such as customer premises equipment sale, outsourcing, consulting, and contact centers.

Together with the highly successful media business of its parent company, PCCW Limited, HKT offers innovative media content and services across the PCCW Group’s unique quadruple-play platforms – fixed-line, broadband Internet access, TV and mobile.

About Ciena

Ciena 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. With focused innovation, Ciena brings together the reliability and capacity of optical networking with the flexibility and economics of Ethernet, unified by a software suite that delivers the industry’s leading network automation. We routinely post recent news, financial results and other important announcements and information about Ciena on our website. For more information, visit www.ciena.com.

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 September 8, 2011. 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.

PCCW GroupIvan HoGroup Communications+852 2883 8747ivan.wy.ho@pccw.comorCiena CorporationJamie MoodyPress Contact+1 214-995-8035jmoody@ciena.comorCiena CorporationGregg LampfInvestor Contact+1 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.