Doubling transatlantic cable capacity

Aqua Comms, an Ireland-based communications provider, has upgraded its two Trans-Atlantic submarine cable routes with Ciena’s  GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution to meet digital connectivity demands across the US, Ireland, Denmark, and the UK. The Aqua Comms network serves global data centers, cloud-based networks, and internet content providers.

“Moving at high speed is key and Ciena’s strong history of innovation has been instrumental in our ability to adapt to changing network requirements. With Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution we are not only boosting our submarine network capacity but also adopting AI capabilities and software intelligence, bringing greater velocity and simplicity to our network,” said Andy Hudson, Chief Networks Officer, Aqua Comms.

Aqua Comms owns two major subsea networks: AEC-1 that connects the US, Ireland, the UK, and AEC-2, which connects North America with Scandinavia, Ireland and the UK. With Ciena, the AEC-1 path, that spans 5,521 km and connects New York to Ireland and the UK, has been completely modernized and upgraded to support 400GbE services leveraging Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e), doubling the cable’s capacity to almost 20Tb/s.

Aqua Comms is also utilizing Ciena’s technology to enhance the 7,650 km AEC-2 network to support up to 500G Trans-Atlantic channel rates and the introduction of spectrum sharing and backhaul capabilities for its customers.

Both upgrades were successfully completed with the networks in-service, using Ciena’s robust design and implementation capabilities, the upgrade will also provide Aqua Comms with access to Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller that offers a more sophisticated management and control capability, translating into significant operating efficiencies. Aqua Comms is also adopting Ciena Insights Service and predictive software capabilities to help resolve network issues.

“Aqua Comms has proven to be a trail blazer in the subsea market,” said Ian Clarke, Vice President of Global Submarine Solutions, Ciena. “With these network enhancements Aqua Comms can offer greater efficiencies and reliability across its network and support the hyper-growth traffic between the US and Europe.”

Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme submarine solution is powered by Ciena’s WL5e coherent optics and advanced software capabilities that provide reduced cost per bit, simplified operations, and smarter analytics.