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Johannesburg, South Africa – Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) has smashed fibre capacity records, transmitting 1.6 terabits per second over a single wavelength during a recent trial. This groundbreaking achievement wiht Ciena significantly boosts the performance benchmark for fibre networks.
DFA, a key player in South Africa’s telecommunications landscape and part of the Maziv group, operates as a leading wholesale, open-access fibre infrastructure provider. Since its inception in 2007, the company has established an extensive fibre network across the nation.
The remarkable trial results follow DFA’s extensive R800 million network upgrade. This upgrade included the deployment of dry underground distribution cabinets (DUDCs) in densely populated areas to accelerate service delivery. In August 2023,DFA announced a further R400 million expansion to deploy 800 DUDCs,notably in regions with high network density.
New Performance Benchmark set for Fibre Capacity
The trial, conducted over a 40km stretch between Isando and Midrand, leveraged Ciena’s WaveRouter and WaveLogic 6 Extreme services. This successfully transmitted 1.6 Tbps, more than quadrupling the performance of previous tests and establishing a new benchmark for IP/optical convergence.
“This greatly enhances the capability of DFA’s existing network,” said Andreas Uys, chief technology officer at Maziv. “It gives us the confidence that we can meet the growing digital demands of our customers.”
Uys added that the company can now seamlessly onboard next-generation connectivity services. This was made possible by the high quality of their upgraded fibre infrastructure and the robust design of their core network.
DFA is South Africa’s leading wholesale, open-access fibre infrastructure provider.
Willcom, a Ciena partner, deployed the WaveLogic capabilities. This integration allows for scalability, versatility, and sustainability by combining 400 Gbps, 800 Gbps, and 1.6 Tbps services within a single router.
By unifying optical and routing technologies, DFA can leverage coherent routing for a simpler, more robust network. ciena’s Navigator Network Control Suite provides a single point of control for automating operations and scaling traffic efficiently.
“As the leading dark fibre provider in South Africa, DFA is taking bold steps to support the growing connectivity needs of its customers,” said Virginie Hollebecque, EMEA vice-president at Ciena. “With ciena’s optical and routing technologies, DFA is better positioned to deliver high-scale 400 Gbps aggregation today while preparing its network to scale up to 1.6 Tbps and beyond.”
Reader question:-Is this increased capacity immediately available to DFA’s customers, or will it require further infrastructure upgrades on their end?
- DFA set a new fibre capacity benchmark, transmitting 1.6 Tbps over a single wavelength.
- The trial utilized Ciena’s WaveRouter and WaveLogic 6 Extreme services.
- This follows DFA’s R800 million network upgrade and R400 million expansion project.
- The advancements will help mee
