CIENA Corporation Announces Extended Partnership with Hermes Europe Railtel

Strategic Insights -

Hermes Europe Railtel, a leading carrier in the European telecom market, has extended its partnership with CIENA Corporation, a leading provider of open architecture, optical networking systems. The partnership will provide Hermes with dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical networking products for its pan-European network build through April 2000. CIENA's open systems approach to optical networking will enable Hermes to provision high-bandwidth services across its network and support the rapid growth of IP and data services in Europe.

Key Takeaways:

  • CIENA's DWDM technology will enable Hermes to increase its network capacity by more than 10 times that of current operational IP networks.
  • The partnership will support Hermes' new IP service offering and its plans to deploy Europe's first operational high-capacity fiber optic Internet network carrying IP traffic directly over DWDM transport.
  • The network, supported by CIENA's MultiWave Sentry 4000 and Cisco Systems' International routers, will be deployed in six European countries and will provide dramatically lower operating costs.
  • Hermes expects a controlled introduction to commence with selected customers in March, with general service availability expected for later this year.
  • CIENA's president and CEO, Patrick Nettles, stated that Hermes' decision to extend its relationship with CIENA will unlock the bandwidth elasticity, service versatility, and network scalability of optical networking, which will become critical differentiators for the carrier.

Statistics:

  • The partnership will support Hermes' plans to increase its network capacity by more than 10 times that of current operational IP networks.
  • CIENA's MultiWave Sentry 4000 will be used to support Hermes' new IP service offering.
  • The network will be deployed in six European countries, with general service availability expected for later this year.
  • Hermes expects a controlled introduction to commence with selected customers in March.
  • CIENA's technology will lower operating costs and provide high-bandwidth services across the network.

Sources:

  • Business Wire, "CIENA Corporation Announces Extended Partnership with Hermes Europe Railtel", February 17, 1999
  • CIENA Corporation, "CIENA Corporation Announces Extended Partnership with Hermes Europe Railtel", February 1999
  • Hermes Europe Railtel, "Hermes Europe Railtel Announces Plan to Deploy Europe's First Operational High-Capacity Fiber Optic Internet Network", February 1999
  • Global TeleSystems Group, "About Global TeleSystems Group", 1999.