Paris, 17 Oct 2013
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext and NYSE: ALU) and Zain KSA today announced the completion of an Agile Optical Network to provide ultra-broadband access throughout Saudi Arabia.
The fibre-optic backbone network is based on converged wavelength division multiplexing/optical transport (WDM/OTN) technology, enabling Zain to provide 100 Gigabits-per-second (100G) capability throughout the country's main metros.
Zain and Alcatel-Lucent are also conducting a trial of 400 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) data transmission over an existing optical link carrying live network traffic in the major western city of Jeddah. Alcatel-Lucent's 400G optical solution, based on the 400Gbps Photonic Service Engine (PSE) platform, supports the emergence of new high-bandwidth, high-performance.
Key facts:
* Zain has made the nationwide deployment of fibre-based mobile ultra-broadband access to support the increasing network capacity demands of 4G LTE.
* Alcatel-Lucent has provided its converged WDM/OTN platform, the 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS), to address the booming demand for high-bandwidth data services such as high-definition video streaming, next-generation mobile broadband applications and cloud services.
* 100G fibre-optic technology takes advantage of unique silicon innovations from Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs and supports a capacity of up to 8.8 Terabits per second - the equivalent of 1.32 million HDTV channels streamed at the same time - over a single optical fibre.
Zain and Alcatel-Lucent are conducting a 400G data transmission trial in Jeddah, over an existing optical link carrying live network traffic.
Hassan Kabbani, CEO of Zain KSA, said: "Zain Saudi Arabia is the first operator in the Middle East to deploy Alcatel-Lucent's Agile Optical Network technology over an existing fibre network. The growing appetite for bandwidth-hungry mobile devices and applications is driving tremendous demand throughout our network, and taking this approach provides high capacity with the flexibility and efficiency to serve our customers today and in the future. The 400G trial underscores our leadership within the Middle East and reinforces our commitment to maintaining leading-edge, high-speed Internet capability."
Amr K El-Leithy, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Azerbaijan region, said: "The geography of Saudi Arabia is challenging, so Zain was looking for a technology provider to build an ultra-broadband network foundation that can serve a wide territory both cost-efficiently and effectively. Plus, as the first operators in the Middle East to experience the capabilities of the 400G technology, Zain has positioned itself at the forefront of high-capacity optical networking."
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