Ciena, a network provider, and Mobily, a mobile operator, have activated the commercial 100 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) network in the Middle East.
This regional first, deployed within the Riyadh metropolitan area, is an extension of Mobily’s resilient, adaptable and scalable nationwide network.
Mobily has also said that it has selected optical transport and switching platforms, Carrier Ethernet solutions, and management and maintenance services from Ciena to support high-bandwidth services.
The 100G coherent service is provided on Ciena’s ActivFlex 6500 Packet Optical Platform, a commercially available system equipped with coherent 100G optics.
The Mobily’s new 100G capabilities give the operator the ability to add network capacity in the metropolitan area of Riyadh.
Mobily said that the Ciena’s 100G coherent technology provides a total throughput of 8.8 Terabits of data per second on Mobily’s network, carried over 88 optical channels on a single strand of optical fiber.
Mobily chief operations officer Abdul Aziz Al Tamami said the demand for bandwidth coming from Saudi businesses is growing steadily, and applications like video, teleconferencing and cloud computing are fuelling a significant portion of this growth.
"By embracing Ciena’s 100G coherent technology, we are capable of fulfilling the needs of even the most demanding of our customers, while future-proofing our network for the years to come," Tamami said.
