GBI, Xtera Announce First Submarine Cable with 100G Technology in Mediterranean Sea

Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Middle East’s first carrier neutral regional network, and Xtera Communications Inc. (Xtera), a leading global provider of optical networking solutions, announced what is believed to be the first commercial repeatered submarine cable system in service with 100G technology. Xtera deployed its multi-purpose Nu-Wave OptimaTM platform in a Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) configuration delivering 100G waves on a fiber pair in the Mediterranean Sea on the network connecting Egypt to Italy.

The Mediterranean has its first 100G submarine cable with GBI offering routes from Europe to the Middle East and on to Asia. GBI is counting on the most advanced optical networking technology developments to deliver new services to the Middle East and beyond. The 100G line transmission rate deployment, which was announced 6 months ago will play a key role in GBI’s service delivery strategy.

“We are pleased to be working with Xtera to achieve this landmark 100G deployment in the Mediterranean,” commented Mr. Ahmed Mekky, Board Member and CEO of GBI. ”Today’s announcement reflects our ongoing commitment to be the region’s most advanced subsea cable operator and to ensure that our customers benefit from the latest technological advancements.”

Xtera’s Nu-Wave OptimaTM platform is a unique modular optical transport system designed to lower the total cost of ownership by using a common, integrated set of modules for long-haul, unrepeatered and regional repeatered submarine applications. The Nu-Wave OptimaTM configuration for regional repeatered submarine cable system includes a line monitoring module used for the supervision of the submerged repeaters.

Being the first and only 100G equipment in the field since 2011 with soft-decision Forward Error Correction (FEC), Xtera’s Nu-Wave OptimaTM offers the industry’s most advanced 100G solution that is available today for multiple optical networking applications. For terrestrial backbone networks, the Nu-Wave OptimaTM equipment delivers an unrivalled line capacity of 15 Tb/s on more than 3,000 km. For unrepeatered applications, a capacity of 34 x 100G was recently transmitted over a cable attenuation exceeding 74 dB.

“Xtera is proud to support GBI in the execution of their ambitious project to improve the international connections to the Middle East. The deployment of our 100G technology on a repeatered subsea link is further evidence of Xtera’s capability to improve the capacity and efficiency of all optical long-haul transmission infrastructures,” said Jon Hopper, President and CEO of Xtera.

The proven Nu-Wave OptimaTM platform offers unparalleled 100G WDM performance in real network conditions based on the combination of the industry’s most powerful 100G technology and unique line equipment to face different span configurations. Some examples include A N x 100G 1,350-km route including a 250-km / 60-dB span; the longest N x 100G link ever deployed with a reach of 2,500 km, including 24 spans and going through 9 Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs); 7 Tb/s per fiber pair on a 350-km / 65.5-dB unrepeatered link.

Gulf Bridge International (GBI) is a private company dedicated to connecting all the nations of the Gulf region to one another and to the rest of the world, using the latest fiber optic technologies. The GBI cable will be developed and owned by GCC investors who are building this strategic infrastructure to serve the entire region. GBI intends to be the carrier’s carrier of choice for traffic to and from the Gulf, facilitating social and economic growth in the region. GBI’s cable system will provide telecom operators and other communications companies, both in the region and globally, with greater choice, value, diversity and resilience.

Xtera Communications, Inc. (Xtera) specializes in network infrastructure that delivers maximum capacity, reach and value. Providing solutions for enterprise and telecom companies, Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of optical and IP networking solutions for submarine, long-haul, regional and enterprise applications. With deployments across five continents, Xtera’s optical transport solutions help service providers expand and accelerate their market reach with new deployments and extend the life of existing network assets with cost-effective upgrades. Our IP networking solutions for WAN traffic management deliver efficient, flexible network optimization. Xtera’s innovative technologies offer exceptional quality and performance, driving customer success.

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Subsea World News Staff , May 07, 2012;  Image: Xtera