Iceland's Míla Taps Ciena to Increase Bandwidth Capacity

Míla, the largest telecom infrastructure company in Iceland, worked with Ciena to increase the country’s bandwidth capacity and 5G capabilities to address surging country-wide and international network traffic.

Míla provides fiber access, mobile xHaul, and Layer 2/3 VPN services to wholesale, commercial, and residential customers in Iceland.

“Our digital lifestyles are fueling an unprecedented need for more bandwidth, and networks must be up to the challenge,” said Daði Sigurðarson, CTO at Míla. “Working together with Ciena, we were able to grow and future-proof our in-country and international bandwidth capacity in support of fiber and 5G network buildups throughout Iceland. This helps ensure our customers have the speed and performance they need for business and consumer applications.”

“According to the FTTH Council Europe, home connections in Iceland are 1Gb/s, and Iceland is ranked number one in fiber penetration rate in Europe, at 76.8 percent,” added Sigurðarson.

“Míla places great importance on the continuous development of its telecommunications infrastructure, and this deployment of Ciena’s innovative optical and IP technology demonstrates its commitment to providing a great customer experience on a high-performing network—whether domestically or internationally as an important hub for subsea cable connections,” said Virginie Hollebecque, Vice President of EMEA at Ciena.

Utilizing Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, WaveLogic Ai coherent technology, 5164 Router, Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller, and Ciena Services, Míla gains:

A four-fold increase in line rate per wavelength—from 100Gb/s to 400Gb/s—with even greater capacities possible in the future

Flexibility to quickly move capacity where it’s most needed via an agile photonic layer

Simplified, cost-effective aggregation of TDM, IP, and Ethernet services on one network

Greater operational performance and efficiency with an open, easy-to-manage network

Improved reliability with PinPoint OTDR, which enables precise localization of potential trouble spots to decrease outage risks and accelerate repair times
Confidence in project success with end-to-end network design, migration, configuration, and testing services.

Míla is Iceland’s largest telecom infrastructure company and one of Ardian Infrastructure’s global portfolio companies, provides comprehensive end-to-end services in all areas of digital infrastructure. Mila’s network is comprised of fixed copper and fiber access, backbone and connectivity, as well as active equipment across a nationwide footprint.

Míla was established in 2007 as the sole infrastructure entity of the publicly-listed telecommunications incumbent Síminn. In 2022, Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, acquired Míla which continues to provide critical telecommunication services such as access to its fiber, mobile and backhaul network as an open access wholesaler to all operators in Iceland.