Commsworld Taps Ciena to Launch Commercial Broadband Service

Internet service provider (ISP) Commsworld is leveraging Ciena's broadband solution for its new business-grade ‘Ethernet over Fibre to the Premises (EoFTTP)’ ultra-high-speed broadband service.

Addressing a gap in the UK connectivity market, EoFTTP provides 1 Gb/s symmetric connectivity with bandwidth guarantees and repair times traditionally only seen with more expensive leased lines.

Commsworld’s broadband network utilizes Ciena’s XGS-PON pluggable optical line terminals (micro-OLTs) and 3801 optical network units (ONUs). Ciena’s micro-OLTs are being deployed within Commsworld's existing access equipment, enabling the ISP to easily make available higher bandwidth when needed to meet demand.

Charlie Boisseau, Chief Technology Officer at Commsworld, said: “Ciena’s pluggable OLTs are a game changer for deploying XGS-PON across our network, especially in the more rural areas where we’ve built our fiber infrastructure. As a B2B provider, we focus on quality not quantity, so naturally our customer density in any given area is obviously lower than an equivalent residential provider. This can bring challenges when creating a business case for additional investment to enable new services at each of our PoPs. Being able to deploy a single XGS-PON port at a time without the need for larger platforms has meant even a rural or fledgling PoP can be enabled for our new EoFTTP service on day one."

“Commsworld’s new EoFTTP service represents a significant milestone in expanding high-speed connectivity options for businesses in the UK,” said Virginie Hollebecque, Vice President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Ciena. “This deployment underscores our commitment to helping service providers like Commsworld address market gaps and deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of businesses.”

The Commsworld project is being carried out in close cooperation with Ciena’s partner Nomios, a leading European provider of professional services, managed services, support, and security operations centers.

“Nomios identified Ciena’s XGS-PON technology as being uniquely suited to offer EoFTTP services for Commsworld’s business customers,” said Stephen Maloney, Regional Sales Director, Nomios UK&I. “In the capital-intensive environments of service provider networks, our integration and automation skills are crucial for allowing us to recognize and deliver new revenues from existing infrastructure.”

Founded in 1994, Commsworld is a leading UK Telecommunications Network Provider and ISP and supports thousands of the UK’s leading organisations, both in public and private sectors with their digital connectivity and communications.

The Edinburgh-headquartered business is a digital infrastructure provider and a leading force behind the rollout of high-speed full-fibre internet connectivity. It has grown rapidly in recent years, fuelled by its involvement with some of the largest public sector ICT contracts, with local authorities in Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire, Northumberland, Dundee and the Scottish Borders.

It offers clients a broad portfolio of Cloud, Security and Voice solutions delivering accessibility to client Applications and Data across the world; providing everything required to connect from the cloud to the device. This is all supported by strong in-house Service & Support capabilities, ISO accreditations and a powerful accessible CRM portal.