O2 plans to boost backbone network to 100 Gigabit capacity

O2 the telecoms company and one of the biggest mobile operators in UK, has decided to roll-out a new 100 Gigabits based backbone network. The company has picked the Ciena's 6500 converged pack optical solution, which is scalable and gives O2 more flexibility to control and configure its network and can satisfy growing demands. The backbone network will be built across the major cities, including Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester and London.

The mobile operator O2, owned by Telefonica, is in the process of being acquired by Three UK's parent company Hutchison Whampoa. The new network can accommodate many Terrabits of traffic and can respond dynamically to changes of demand. O2's backbone infrastructure is vital to keep it apace with the ever increasing data demands of Mobile Broadband (3G, 4G) by a growing customer base, and to keep up with the competition in the sector.

CTO of O2, Brenden O'Reilly, said the network enhancement is a good example of their commitment to provide superior user experience. Senior VP of Global Products at Ciena, Francois Locoh-Donou, said they should be able to respond to unpredictable and growing needs to deliver to customers an on-demand experience.