Ciena optical tech makes light waves in Canada, Indonesia

In the latest of a series of wins regarding its optical communication solutions, Ciena has signed a deal with Moby to provide residential connectivity services to subscribers in Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, Canada, and has seen Indonesian provider HSPnet launch high-capacity transmission routes across both underwater and land cables by its WaveLogic AI-powered platform. 

An independent telecom provider and division of Western Fibre Communications, Moby designs, builds and operates its own dedicated fibre optic infrastructure to serve residential and business customers, stating that it is on a mission to redefine connectivity in the province.

Through its residential arm, Moby provides internet, TV and phone services to high-density multi-family apartment and condo buildings. The network topology for these multi-dwelling units (MDUs) is akin to a campus network: a group of buildings operating within a defined geographic area over a shared network to provide internet access to users.

Because multiple residents in an MDU simultaneously use the network for entertainment, socialisation and work, it must be capable of handling nonstop streaming, intense gaming, constant video conferencing, large file transfers and other bandwidth-intensive activities. So, to ensure that it is providing its customers with the best digital experience possible, Moby is deploying XGS-PON (10 gigabit symmetrical passive optical network), to makes possible downstream and upstream speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

“We saw that people didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to telecom services, so we set out to offer a real alternative – a local, independent provider with a quality, super-fast all-fibre network and an intense focus on the customer,” said Moby founder and chief technology officer Nick Brewer.

After considering several vendors for its broadband network, Moby settled on a Ciena solution including the 3924 Platform, XGS-PON uOLTs (micro optical line terminals), and 3801 ONUs (optical network units). The uOLT small pluggable device is designed to transform any port on the 3924 into an OLT, one port at a time. Well-suited for residential broadband applications, it allows Moby to adapt and evolve with user, bandwidth, and performance demands in a highly cost-effective manner. Additionally, the 3924’s high-capacity design is said to enable Moby to reduce footprint and energy requirements, resulting in a more environmentally friendly solution.

“Ciena’s uOLT pluggables are a game changer,” Brewer added. “They’ve allowed us to economically scale with demand while significantly decreasing our space and power consumption. This is particularly crucial for space-constrained MDU applications and dovetails perfectly with our sustainability aspirations.”

Meanwhile in Asia, Indonesian internet services and integrated network access provider HSPnet (PT Parsaoran Global Datatrans) has gone live with its 6 Tbps on its B3JS (Jakarta-Bangka-Bintan-Batam-Singapore) and BDMCS (Batam-Dumai-Medan) cable systems. The transmission routes, totaling around 2,000km across both underwater and land cables, are supported by Ciena’s WaveLogic AI-powered 6500 platform.

The activation of the B3JS and BDMCS cables is a collaboration between Ciena, Ciena partner Terrabit Networks, and HSPnet. Using Ciena’s 6500, HSPnet is able to offer 100G to 400G wavelength services to its Tier 1 and Tier 2 Indonesian telco customers. Ciena’s 6500 also provides power and space efficiency benefits, enabling HSPnet to reduce energy consumption.

“With the go-live of our transmission routes on B3JS and BDMCS, we’re on an upward trajectory to become the main backbone network operator in Indonesia with very strong internet network services,” said Daniel Simanjuntak, technical and operations director, PT Parsaoran Global Datatrans.

“Running on Ciena’s proven coherent optical technology, we’re able to provide a reliable and fast connectivity alternative to all HSPnet customers as well as future-proof our network to meet additional capacity needs over time.”