Vocus Selects Nokia to launch 200G optical network in Australia

Nokia has announced that Vocus, Australia’s leading fibre and network solutions provider, has deployed Nokia’s solution to set up the 200G optical links covering more than 4,100 km between Brisbane and Darwin.

Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) is used to upgrade Vocus’ optical network between Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin to deliver 200G with the capability to easily provide 300G and 400G in the near future. With this initiative, the Vocus capacity upgrade covers more than 7,100 km of fibre.

The deployment between Adelaide to Darwin and Brisbane to Darwin replaces the existing optical transport network to provide 100G and 10G services to Vocus Enterprise, Government and Wholesale customers.

The deployment of 2 x 200G based wavelength unregenerated optical transport networks covers 70 sites, over a distance of 3,000 and 4,100 km respectively, and will help Vocus to optimize CapEx and reduce OpEx. The upgraded, higher capacity optical network allows Vocus to provide the latest generation of quality optical services, in connecting Darwin to Hypercloud Data Centres, regional locations and international submarine cables.

Nokia’s solution is based on a flexible spectrum hybrid architecture with Colorless, Directionless, Contentionless Flex-grid (CDC-F) architecture at the terminal sites at Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin, and a simpler Colorless-Flexgrid (C-F) solution at regional drop sites providing a total warranted capacity of 10.8Tb (54x200G) between Adelaide-Darwin and Brisbane-Darwin. The solution is powered by Nokia’s Photonic Service Engine (PSE) super coherent digital signal processors. This is a cost-optimized solution designed to combine end-to-end 200G traffic with more economical nodes in regional sites, allowing express traffic and regional traffic in selected locations to be served by the same system.

Michael Ackland, General Manager of Federal Government and Strategic Projects at Vocus, said: “Over the last decade, we have leveraged Nokia’s field-proven solutions to provide a world-class experience to our customers. The successful modernization of our optical network on key routes reiterates our confidence in Nokia’s solutions and expertise. Nokia’s industry-leading optical solution helps us differentiate our services based on the quality of experience.”

Rob McCabe, Head of Enterprise, Australia and New Zealand at Nokia, said: “Nokia and Vocus have partnered for many years, and we’re delighted to have helped them build a 200G optical network of this capability over such a significant distance. This upgrade improves both the current and future capacity of the Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin links to ensure Vocus can address growing data consumption demands while also delivering ultra-high speed and reliable experiences for their customers.”