Infinera tells us that Sparkle selected Infinera’s ICE6 800G-capable coherent technology to enhance its new Mediterranean and European Optical Backbone, Nibble. Deploying Infinera’s ICE6 solution will enable Sparkle to launch new 400 GbE services over its existing infrastructure while boosting its network capacity by up to 54%, as demonstrated in a recent trial on two of Sparkle’s major routes in Italy.
Sparkle successfully completed a trial deploying Infinera’s ICE6 technology on live links from Catania to Milan and from Rome to Milan, achieving wavelength speeds of 500 Gb/s across 2,136 kilometers and 700 Gb/s over 858 kilometers, respectively, setting a milestone for European long-distance data transmission. The successful trial underscored how Infinera’s ICE6 solution can enable Sparkle to significantly increase capacity on live and key routes throughout Italy. Infinera and Sparkle plan to deploy 800G channels along other routes on the Sparkle network.
Sparkle operates a state-of-the-art global communications infrastructure to provide a full range of connectivity, multi-cloud, colocation, mobile, and voice services to enterprises, OTTs, carriers, media, and content players. With Infinera’s ICE6 solution, Sparkle further scales up on its transmission capabilities – up to 30 Tb/s per link – and offers very high-capacity bandwidth and enhanced service flexibility to meet booming customer demand on the corridors linking Sicily and the whole Mediterranean area with Milan and the main European hubs.
“Infinera’s innovative ICE6 optical networking solution supports the evolution of our network, enabling us to deliver spectral efficiency and high-capacity services to meet customer expectations,” said Enrico Bagnasco, CTO at Sparkle.
“Infinera looks forward to working with Sparkle to enhance the capabilities of its pan-Mediterranean optical network with ICE6 and enabling Sparkle to offer new high-speed services to its customers,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Infinera.