INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling
Southern Cross achieves world ’ s first 1 Tb / s transmission across the Pacific with Ciena
New coherent optical technology allows Southern Cross to ride the Terabit wave .
Southern Cross has connected the world ’ s first transpacific 1 Tb / s single-carrier wavelength across its 13,500km live production network with Ciena ’ s WaveLogic 6 Extreme ( WL6e ) coherent optics .
Dino DiPerna , Senior Vice President , Global Research and Development , Ciena , said : “ As AI and cloud applications continue to increase capacity requirements for data centers , cloud and service providers are working with private cable operators like Southern Cross to expand their footprint and offer reliable connectivity . With Ciena ’ s WaveLogic 6 high performance optics , these service providers can support the move towards 800G services to connect data centers and build AI-ready networks with greater scale .”
The connectivity milestone saw WL6e perform effortlessly at 1 Tb / s over the world ’ s longest single optical submarine cable segment and demonstrates the adaptive nature of Southern Cross ’ network .
With WL6e , Southern Cross continues to enhance its network eco-system to be more scalable , intelligent and ideally positioned to deliver high-capacity digital pathways between Australia , New Zealand and the USA .
Implementation of Ciena ’ s leading technology allows Southern Cross to enhance the reliability and resilience of connectivity throughout the Oceania region . This will support Southern Cross in meeting the evolving needs of end users requiring increasing bandwidth to support projected demand for AI , content , video and cloud applications .
Southern Cross owns and operates three diverse Trans-Pacific submarine cables connecting Australia , New Zealand , Fiji and Hawaii to the mainland United States , along with the Pacific Islands of Nukunonu , Tokelau and Kiritimati , Kiribati .
The network has around 45,000 kilometers of submarine and 4,300 kilometers of terrestrial fiber optic cables providing over 100 Tb / s of digital inter-connectivity capability providing secure , resilient and reliable connectivity across the Pacific .
Southern Cross is currently undertaking the Southern Cross Tasman Express project which will be a high-capacity SDM express route , providing 240Tbs + of data-centre connectivity between Sydney and Auckland . p
The new channel speed ran error-free at 1 Tb / s on Southern Cross ’ live production network between Sydney and Los Angeles demonstrating record-breaking capabilities and spectral efficiencies .
Southern Cross will begin volume deployment of WL6e in the first calendar quarter of 2025 across various segments of its network , including its Southern Cross NEXT cable supporting the lowest latency connectivity between Sydney / Auckland and Los Angeles .
Laurie Miller , President and CEO , Southern Cross Cables , said : “ Transforming and modernizing our networks to support nextgeneration applications and growing bandwidth demands is part of our ongoing 20 + year commitment to the Pacific .
“ Working with Ciena and adapting our network with their latest coherent optical solution illustrates our pledge to the ongoing enhancement of critical digital infrastructure for our region . Southern Cross ’ eco-system provides a vital gateway between Australia and the United States by connecting 20 + key nodes located across Australia , New Zealand , the Pacific Islands and the US West Coast to global digital markets .”
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