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Optical Illusions: Point of view from Ciena
Ciena was among the major league telecommunication equipment manufacturers that BT chose to partner with from the very beginning of 21CN (alongside the likes of Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu, and Siemens). BT has recently announced the deployment of the firm’s optical Ethernet transport and switching solutions at more than a hundred sites across the UK to support the rapidly accelerating roll-out of this ambitious project.
John-Paul Hemingway, the company's Chief Technologist for the EMEA region is content with the progress that has been made on the project so far. "Getting the transmission layer in place is clearly vital to the success of any next generation network deployment, as it is the foundation upon which everything else will be built. If it is not done properly, the whole network will not work at optimum efficiency" he states, "We are on schedule with our contribution to 21CN, and are confident that everything will continue to run smoothly." It is estimated that BT has now completed around 20% of its core infrastructure implementation for 21CN, installing over five hundred of Ciena's network elements to connect network nodes together in every major city in mainland UK. The British incumbent carrier's plans for deploying Ciena equipment in Northern Ireland are also now underway. In addition, BT is already utilising Ciena's equipment to transport live voice and data traffic in the first fully operational 21CN region, in and around Cardiff.
"In the past the industry placed little emphasis on utilising the optical fibre resource to its fullest. Now it is a far more serious concern" Hemingway notes. He explains that more widespread use of DWDM will make sure that the fibre available globally is completely optimised, so that capacity isn't simply wasted, and the laying of further cables can thus be avoided. "Carriers such as BT are also characterising the remaining dark fibre left from the 1990s " he adds "to see if it can be used in their NGN roll-outs." But Ciena is not just looking to install 'dumb pipes' it knows that it needs to add value to the smooth running of the network.
The company's FlexSelect architecture offers a software-driven approach for transitioning to next generation converged networks. It can enable operators to employ a fully-flexible, service-selectable network that delivers any mix of services while offering IP/Ethernet efficiency combined with the reliability associated with TDM. It is suited to network transformations such as 21CN, since it delivers a multi-service transport/service aggregation platform that enables an easily adaptable transition from PSTN to a fully packet-based network infrastructure. As Hemingway puts it "FlexSelect gives carriers room to manoeuvre, it will allow for capacity to be easily reassigned to regions where demand might be greater, and can be adjusted to meet the correct balance of voice/data/video required. This flexibility means that the unpredictability of consumer needs doesn't cause any major problem. As we like to say 'our customers can get it right, even when they get it wrong'."
Though challenging, he feels that 21CN is a milestone in the development of the industry, stating "Some carriers have looked to take a more cautious approach to enhancing their existing infrastructure. The management of BT has been bolder, they have said, let's create a whole new network from scratch, and replace all the various legacy networks entirely." "The great thing here is that BT has managed to get all the primes to sit down together and share interface information, and enter into open discussion. This is basically the first time such a level of collaboration has happened" Hemingway continues "It goes against the whole culture that the telecoms industry has adhered to up till now."
When questioned as to whether there was a risk that despite all the investment being made in 21CN, it might not be BT who would gain the spoils, Hemingway responded "BT, like other carriers across Europe, has to be aware that the industry is changing as telecoms and media start converging. But if it plays to its strengths, concentrating on providing high quality of service and differentiated services, then I don't think it will be in any real danger. Companies like Sky have huge content portfolios of course, but the major carriers will all be in strong positions to partner with content providers, combining their technological advantages with compelling material."
Ciena has already secured several other NGN projects across the continent, working with network operators such as Swisscom, Neuf Cegetel, and Interoute in Eastern Europe. The firm also has strategic relationships with AT&T and Verizon in North America. "There is no doubt that other carriers across Europe are looking to see how well BT fares with 21CN, it is likely to be the test case for how future NGN projects are embarked upon" he feels "but it is equally important for us, as it gives us the opportunity for validation of our ability to facilitate state-of-the-art next generation services" he concludes.