Astound Business Solutions Launches Commercial 400G Wavelength Service across the U.S., Powered by Ciena
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Insights
The launch of Astound Business Solutions' 400G Wavelength service is a significant development in the telecommunications sector. The service, powered by Ciena's WaveLogic 5 technology, offers substantial capacity upgrades for large carriers, enterprises and public sector organizations. This move is indicative of the growing demand for high-speed, low-latency connectivity, essential for data-intensive applications and cloud computing.
From a technical standpoint, the use of both the WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) 800G and WaveLogic 5 Nano (WL5n) 400G coherent optics represents a leap in network capacity and efficiency. These technologies enable the delivery of higher bandwidth with lower power consumption, which can translate to cost savings and improved sustainability for Astound's business customers. The expansion of this high-capacity network could also have a ripple effect on the ecosystem, potentially leading to increased competitiveness among telecom providers and fostering innovation in services offered to end-users.
From a market perspective, the introduction of Astound's 400G Wavelength service could have implications for the company's market position and the broader competitive landscape. By offering cutting-edge optical technology from Ciena, Astound is likely to strengthen its appeal to high-demand clients, such as data centers and hyperscalers, which require robust and scalable network solutions.
This development may also influence the stock market's perception of Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), as successful implementation and adoption of their technology in Astound's service can serve as a testament to Ciena's product quality and market demand. Investors will be watching for signs of increased adoption rates and potential for market share gains, which could impact Ciena's financial performance and stock valuation.
Another aspect worth noting is the application of 400G Wavelength in educational systems. The digital divide has been a pressing issue and high-bandwidth networks are crucial for modern, data-rich learning environments. Astound's commitment to the E-Rate program and the enhancement of digital learning initiatives could have a profound impact on educational outcomes. By providing secure, high-bandwidth connections across educational institutions, Astound is not only addressing immediate connectivity needs but also laying the groundwork for future educational technology advancements.
This initiative could potentially lead to improved educational equity and long-term social benefits, as well as position Astound as a key player in the edtech infrastructure space. The focus on education also reflects a strategic alignment with public sector priorities, which could open up additional funding and partnership opportunities for the company.
Astound’s nationwide fiber-optic network covers more than 41,000 route miles and provides connectivity for over 75,000 business customers, as well as to more than 100 data centers across the
“One of the main drivers of 400G wavelength service adoption is the need for greater connectivity speeds between multiple locations and meeting the demand of these higher-speed requirements in sites like data centers,” said Patrick Knorr, Chief Commercial Officer, Astound Business Solutions. “With 400G Wavelength, powered by Ciena’s best-in-class optical technology, we provide dedicated low-latency, point-to-point bandwidth to common carrier points-of-presence and hyperscaler locations.”
“Businesses of all sizes have made it clear that they need faster speeds now more than ever, and this new offering makes 400G service available to Astound Business Solutions’ customers from coast to coast,” said Kevin Sheehan, CTO of the
Narrowing the digital divide in education
Another key application for 400G Wavelength is in support of educational systems. Today’s data-rich learning environments require secure, high-bandwidth connections across multiple campuses, offices, and districts.
Committed to addressing the digital challenges faced in schools, Astound is a participant in Universal Service Administrative Company’s E-Rate program and assists its education customers in navigating the rules and regulations for securing funding for digital learning initiatives.
“Teachers and students are dependent now more than ever on the internet for enhanced learning, document sharing and collaboration, and research. Our high-bandwidth network can handle these needs while allowing for future growth,” said Knorr. “This, combined with our E-Rate work, helps empower schools to succeed in digital and online experiences.”
Additional Ciena offerings supporting Astound Business Solutions
Astound is deploying Ciena’s Waveserver 5 interconnect platform, powered by WL5e 800G performance-optimized coherent optics or WL5n 400G coherent pluggables, to efficiently deliver 400G connectivity across all network links. Additionally, the telco is leveraging Ciena’s flexible 6500 ROADM photonic layer for resiliency and scalability as well as its Navigator Network Control Suite (Navigator NCS) for multi-layer visibility and simplified network management. Crucially, Astound is building out its network quickly and easily with Navigator’s PlannerPlus and Emulation Cloud, which provide online network planning and design tools and an open environment for integration testing with operational support systems.
“This enables us to deploy the right coherent technology for any distance at the lowest power and cost—whether that’s Ciena’s WL5e for longer-reach links or its WL5n for shorter ones. And, thanks to Navigator NCS, we can do the calculations well before any hardware is deployed,” added Knorr.
About Astound Business Solutions
Astound Business Solutions provides IT leaders with high-capacity, secure connectivity for their mission-critical applications while increasing overall agility and responsiveness. A part of Astound Broadband, the award-winning national telecommunications provider offers advanced solutions that are delivered over a diverse, carrier-grade network that provides the speed, bandwidth, and reliability businesses need to support growing data demands.
With coast-to-coast connectivity to over 75,000 business customers, Astound Business Solutions maintains a local, customer-centric approach, with dedicated industry experts on-hand around the clock to help businesses stay on top of today’s evolving IT technology and remain competitive in their markets. Visit https://www.astound.com/business/about/
About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a global leader in networking systems, services, and software. We build the most adaptive networks in the industry, enabling customers to anticipate and meet ever-increasing digital demands. For three-plus decades, Ciena has brought our humanity to our relentless pursuit of innovation. Prioritizing collaborative relationships with our customers, partners, and communities, we create flexible, open, and sustainable networks that better serve all users—today and into the future. For updates on Ciena, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.
Note to Ciena Investors
You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements. From time to time, we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, forecasts, information and assumptions. These statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those stated or implied, because of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies and can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240213767908/en/
Astound Business Solutions Media Contact:
Mark S. Peterson
mark@pointerpr.com
206-390-0204
Ciena Media Contact:
Colleen Seery
pr@ciena.com
724-419-5753
Source: Astound Business Solutions
FAQ
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What Ciena offerings does Astound Business Solutions deploy to support its network connectivity?
