Nortel revealed it is working with Virgin Media and Juniper Networks to increase the operator's capacity to 40Gbps, up from 10Gbps. The North-South UK is in response to the increasing demand for bandwidth-intensive entertainment services, including video-on-demand, catch-up TV, multimedia communications and faster internet access, with 20Mbps and 50Mbps trials.
The 40Gbps trial was conducted over a 350km span of Virgin Media's existing 10G network in the UK, showing how existing optical network assets could be optimised and the network scaled to achieve high transmission rates.
Nortel confirmed it provided 40G Adaptive Optical Engine DWDM transponder cards, which interconnected with Juniper Networks T-series routers with 40G interfaces located at sites in Manchester and London, for the trial.
The trial was conducted last month, carrying 40G traffic generated by Virgin Media and delivering over its long-haul optical network between Manchester and London. Virgin Media claimed it is the first UK operator to offer 40G wavelength services between UK locations and confirmed it is now looking to deploy, enabling it to continue to grow and scale new premium-quality business and entertainment services.