Marcatel, a telecommunications carrier based in Mexico, is leveraging Ciena’s coherent optical technology to support a new network connecting Querétaro, Mexico, to McAllen, Texas.
The network, which serves content delivery providers and wholesale carriers, allows Marcatel to offer low-latency, high-capacity data center interconnect (DCI) services at speeds up to 600Gbps across long distances to meet an ever-growing demand for bandwidth-hungry video, data, and cloud-based content.
“Marcatel has long been a pioneer in the networking industry in Mexico, and we’re again raising the bar with the first network in the country to carry 600G waves for long-haul distances,” said Gustavo M. de la Garza Flores, CEO of Grupo Marcatel.
“The explosive growth of data, video, and cloud applications has heightened the need for agile, on-demand, and ultra-high-bandwidth connectivity, and Ciena has made it possible for Marcatel to build a content network with the fastest speeds in the market,” added Isaías Alegría, Director of Technology, Marcatel.
Marcatel installed Ciena’s flexible 6500 photonic line system and Waveserver 5 powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme for multi-terabit capacity across a long-haul coherent optical network of more than 1000km, providing high fiber capacity without regeneration. With this deployment, Marcatel can instantly react to unpredictable traffic demands by scaling connectivity and capacity to support a wide array of applications and services—all while taking up less space in equipment rooms with a compact footprint.
To turn up services quickly and improve bandwidth allocation to meet changing customer requirements, Marcatel is also using Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller and Liquid Spectrum analytics apps to simplify and automate operations. Specifically, the Channel Margin Gauge app provides Marcatel real-time visibility into channel performance and valuable insight into optimal programmable capacity, ensuring the most efficient use of network resources.
“Across Mexico, we’re seeing an insatiable demand for bandwidth-hogging video and cloud-based content,” said Fernando Hitos, Country Manager, Mexico, Ciena. “With Ciena’s optical technology and advanced software apps, Marcatel now has the capacity, scalability, and operational simplicity to rapidly deploy innovative DCI services to meet these needs.”
