Hawaiki Submarine Cable has selected Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution based on Waveserver Ai and various packet-optical networking platforms to upgrade capacity on its new subsea network serving Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and the United States. The 15,000-km Hawaiki cable, which began began commercial operations in July 2018, brought an initial 43.8 terabits per second of additional capacity to the market.
Ciena said its GeoMesh solution will offer Hawaiki the lowest cost per transported bit, upgrading the cable to a cumulative 67 terabits per second in transmission speeds – a 53 percent increase of Hawaiki’s design capacity achieved just a few months after its commercial launch. The upgrade includes Ciena’s 6500 Submarine Line Terminating Equipment (SLTE) as well as the Waveserver Ai platform, both powered by WaveLogic Ai, Hawaiki can now scale from 1GbE, 10GbE, and 100GbE services over 200G and 250G wavelengths, offering a larger granularity of capacity products to its customers. Furthermore, deploying these platforms will provide greater flexibility to meet current and future bandwidth demand, including faster delivery and dynamic provisioning.
Additionally, Ciena’s Blue Planet Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) software will improve network visibility and provide real-time software control, as well as the ability to build customized solutions.
Hawaiki is making its mark in the Pacific region by delivering greater connectivity, diverse routes and competitive pricing that are greatly benefitting local businesses and consumers. Ciena’s optical and packet networking platforms will serve as a great complement to Hawaiki’s already extensive submarine network, addressing and adapting to the modern requirements of a bandwidth-hungry environment.” stated Rick Seeto, Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific and Japan, Ciena.
Hawaiki transpacific subsea cable enters service
The Hawaiki transpacific subsea cable is now ready for service.
Hawaiki is a 15,000 km fibre optic deep-sea cable linking Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and United States. The system uses TE SubCom’s optical add/drop multiplexing (OADM) nodes allows for additional landings in the Pacific region to be added as needed. Hawaiki will provide 43 Tbps of new capacity in the Pacific region.
The system was built at a cost of US$300 million. Anchor customers on the new cable include Amazon Web Services, Vodafone, American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASTCA) and Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ).
“This 25-year transoceanic infrastructure opens the door for unprecedented levels of economic, social and research collaboration right across the Pacific,” said Hawaiki Chief Executive Officer, Remi Galasso.
“Hawaiki is the fastest and largest cross-sectional capacity link between the U.S. and Australia and New Zealand. It will significantly enhance our connectivity to the rest of the world and, ultimately, improve the everyday life of our communities.”
