Qwest Upgrading Backbone to 100G bps
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With Internet traffic doubling approximately every 19 months, Qwest moves forward to handle broadband-intensive services like next-generation suites of unified communications, video, multimedia and virtualized applications.
Deploying Alcatel-Lucent's Ethernet service routing capability, Qwest said
Sept. 2 it plans to deliver speeds of up to 100G bps to enterprise and
government customers. The next-generation network will allow business customers
to handle broadband-intensive services such as unified communications, video,
multimedia and virtualized applications.
At 100G bps, a 2-hour high-definition movie or
presentation can be transmitted in less than 9 seconds. As a result of
the advanced technology, the network will need fewer regeneration sites and
will rely on advances in silicon power handling. Qwest expects the improvements
to produce gains in power efficiency on a per-gigabit basis.
"This ... upgrade ... allows Qwest to meet the very real challenges of
responding to data consumption trends. Qwest is satisfying customers' appetites
for increasingly sophisticated applications while honoring the need to be more
resource-efficient," Pieter Poll, Qwest's chief technology officer, said
in a statement.
With Internet traffic doubling approximately every 19 months, Qwest said the
upgrade directly addresses and alleviates pressure on the network backbone. The
additional capacity will also allow for more diverse bandwidth options, support
enhanced network protection capabilities and reduce overall latency.
"As a Tier One national carrier, Qwest is engineering today's network for
tomorrow's growth in mind with all of the capabilities needed to handle
broadband-intensive services like the next suite of unified communications,
video, multimedia and virtualized applications," said Basil Alwan, head of
carrier portfolio strategy at Alcatel-Lucent. "Through our advanced IP and
optical technology, Alcatel-Lucent is helping Qwest create a nationwide
backbone critical for its strategic IP transformation."
