AquaComms Selects Ciena for New Trans-Atlantic Submarine Network

AquaComms’ ‘AEConnect Cable System’ provides diverse, low-latency route to support growing web-scale application demands

HANOVER, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2015-- To support surging demand for trans-Atlantic connectivity, Aqua Comms Limited (AquaComms) selected Ciena^® (NYSE:CIEN) to facilitate 100G connectivity on its new AEConnect Cable System from New York to London, and beyond to greater Europe. Leveraging Ciena’s GeoMesh solution, AquaComms will provide low-latency, reliable and scalable connectivity to support the needs of the web-scale providers that underpin today’s international cloud connectivity. The route will also enable trans-Atlantic connectivity for global carriers and multi-national enterprises. By providing private dedicated connections, AEConnect will lower network costs and enable higher, more consistent network performance for end users.

Key Facts:

• AEConnect is a new subsea cable system that is a diverse trans-Atlantic route and spans more than 5,400 km connecting New York with the West Coast of Ireland, including deep water branching units for future landing station connectivity. In addition to the trans-Atlantic segment, the system supports metro networks, data center interconnectivity (DCI) and access to all of the major data centers in Dublin, as well as from Wales to London.
• AquaComms is deploying Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, powered by WaveLogic 3 Extreme coherent optics, to provide 100G services between point of presences (PoP). This high-capacity network will help meet the demands from increasing data traffic crossing the Atlantic Ocean, which between 2014 and 2021 has a forecasted 41 percent CAGR according to TeleGeography.
• The new low-latency and high-availability network will provide critical connectivity for global data centers, cloud-based networks, financial services and content providers, such as international DCI for Equinix. The innovative design of the AEConnect system will allow AquaComms and its customers to take advantage of advanced modulation schemes such as 8QAM and 16QAM that provide greater spectral efficiency and reach.
• With Ciena’s programmable platforms, AEConnect will be able to utilize emerging technologies such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), to support bandwidth-intensive applications, ensuring that international organizations can take advantage of resilient and secure connectivity to leverage economic opportunities across the Atlantic Ocean.
• Additionally, Ciena’s OneControl Unified Management System together with PinPoint Advanced Fiber Analytics and OneConnect Layer 0 Control Plane will provide end-to-end network management, visibility and restoration on the terrestrial segments. This helps AquaComms proactively resolve unexpected issues and maintain network reliability.

Executive Comments:

“By deploying this next-generation trans-Atlantic subsea cable system, we are able to provide premium connectivity for both our web-scale and service provider customers, who continue to see the demand for bandwidth growing at exponential rates. Ciena’s GeoMesh solution helps ensure that we have the scalable, programmable and high-capacity connectivity in place to support the varied needs of our customers.”

Greg Varisco, Chief Operating Officer,Aqua Comms Limited

“For sub-sea providers like AquaComms, having a reliable and high-capacity infrastructure in place is critical to the support growing demands of global data centers, cloud-based networks, financial services and content providers. Ciena's agile and programmable GeoMesh solutions incorporate the latest coherent optical transmission technologies and network architectures to create seamless global connectivity to address the challenges of today’s web-scale world.”

Ed McCormack, Vice President and General Manager of Submarine Systems,Ciena

AboutAqua Comms Limited

Aqua Comms Limited (AquaComms) is the owner and operator of the transatlantic cable AEConnect and the Irish Sea cable CeltixConnect, and was established to build, acquire or merge with subsea fiber optic cable networks to provide capacity networking solutions to the global media, content providers and IT companies.