Colt Unveils 400GE service across Europe and APAC

Colt Technology Services has announced the availability of its new 400GE Wave and Private Wave services, making it the first telco to offer customers access to the technology as a service across both Europe and the Asia Pacific regions.

Based on Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optical technology, the 400GE service builds upon Colt’s high bandwidth optical portfolio delivered on the IQ Network, which includes Wave, Spectrum, and Private Wave, to deliver the next generation of services with an unparalleled end user experience over a fully programmable network.

Since the launch of its IQ Network in 2016, Colt has continued to drive innovation in optical networking via an extensive program of investment, testing and deployment of leading-edge technologies. Today, the Colt IQ Network comprises more than 29,000 on net buildings and over 900 data centres, making it a truly global network that powers today’s rapid and ongoing digital transformations.

Colt will use Ciena’s Waveserver 5 platform, powered by WL5e 800G technology to enable efficient 400GE between locations on the IQ Network, to meet the highest levels of bandwidth demands from customers.

Vivek Gaur, Colt’s VP Network Engineering, said: “As a company, we’re known for our innovation – and that’s really highlighted with this announcement, with us being the first to deliver 400GE commercially across both Europe and the Asia Pacific. Colt continues to make systematic and strategic investments to drive innovation in the IQ Network, introducing next-generation, scalable and sustainable optical network technology in partnership with Ciena. We’re staying one step ahead in the market and helping our customers transform the way they do business through high bandwidth connectivity.”

Jamie Jefferies, Ciena’s Vice President and General Manager, International, said: “In today’s digital era, end users expect more high-quality and innovative digital experiences. Ciena’s industry-leading WaveLogic technology continues to push the envelope and give innovative providers like Colt the ability to construct their network to adapt and meet enterprise connectivity requirements that power digital transformations across the world.”

Recognised as a Visionary in the Gartner 2021 Magic Quadrant for Network Services, Colt also received Frost & Sullivan’s 2021 European Customer Value Leadership Award. The company’s recent industry-leading Net Promotor Scores (NPS) reflect Colt employees’ high motivation, and the Financial Times’ Diversity Leaders list rated Colt first in the telco industry.

Colt strives to transform the way the world works through the power of connectivity. The Colt IQ Network connects 900+ data centres across Europe, Asia and North America’s largest business hubs, with over 29,000 on net buildings and growing.

Colt understands business connectivity requirements and provides high performance and high bandwidth solutions to enable customers’ success, with Colt’s vision centering on being the most customer oriented business in the industry.

Customers include data intensive organisations spanning over 210 cities in more than 30 countries. Colt is a recognised innovator and pioneer in Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV).