Alcatel-Lucent and Zain KSA have 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 (Gbps) capability throughout the country?s main metros.
Zain and Alcatel-Lucent are also conducting a trial of 400 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 400 Gbps Photonic Service Engine (PSE) platform, is expected to support the emergence of new high-bandwidth broadband.
Zain KSA CEO Hassan Kabbani 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.?
Alcatel-Lucent?s Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Azerbaijan region president Amr K El-Leithy 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.?
