IP Telecom picks Nokia to enable quantum-safe data center connectivity

Nokia will supply IP Telecom with optical networking equipment to extend the operator’s data center cloud connectivity infrastructure among metro areas in Portugal. This expansion allows IP Telecom to reach business and government end users through a highly secure, encrypted 100Gbps optical data center interconnect (DCI) solution.

IP Telecom selected Nokia’s optical networking technologies because of its unique scaling capabilities in growing DCI capacity from 10Gbps through 100 and 200Gbps line rates. The network will also be ready to deliver 400GE services in the future.

Another critical capability is line encryption, where each wavelength is encrypted prior to transmission across the fiber optic network. This capability is increasingly essential to business and government network users as data theft has become more common. Encryption and highly secure key management ensures each end customer is protected against unauthorized data tapping in the fiber optic network.

With three major data centers in Portugal (Lisbon, Porto and Viseu), IP Telecom’s customers are connected through dedicated wavelengths, managed in a unique and redundant way. The safety of each customer’s data is improved in Portugal, along with a commitment to high capacity, availability and low latency, ensured through robust service level agreements (SLAs). This network expansion reaches out to additional nodes throughout the country, increasing IP Telecom’s access to customer locations through additional encrypted 100Gbps and 200Gbps wavelengths.

Pedro Mendonça, IP & Telcos Director at IP Telecom, said: “Nokia’s modular optical networking solution allows us to easily upgrade each customer’s cloud DCI as needed and at the same time, ease any concerns about data protection. The encryption capabilities are a differentiator for us.”

Luis Bueno, Head of Enterprise for Spain and Portugal at Nokia, said: “This deal underlines Nokia’s role as a major player in the Portuguese ICT ecosystem with a growing footprint in the country. IP Telecom is a stand-out service provider in Portugal, delivering a range of services to business and government alike. We are excited that the operator has selected us to expand capacity in its cloud DCI network, connecting Portugal in an economical manner while also providing a high degree of security. This truly sets IP Telecom apart from its peers.”

The Nokia solution includes the 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) and 1830 Photonic Service Interconnect – Modular (PSI-M) optical transport platforms and 1830 SMS secure management server. Together, these systems comprise a solution that furthers IP Telecom’s plans for network expansion in Portugal. Particularly unique is the use of the 1830 SMS platform to provide key management of the encrypted optical links. This server provides a centralized, industry-certified, symetric key management solution, delivering immediate protection against highly sophisticated brute-force attacks, including threats from emerging quantum computers. Working in concert with AES-256 encryption engines on the 1830 PSS and 1830 PSI-M, Nokia believes the solution is the strongest in the industry.