Telefónica’s UK arm has selected Ciena to supply a 100G nationwide backbone network.
O2 will deploy the vendor’s equipment to connect cities, including London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Liverpool, to support growth in data centre and network virtualisation demands.
The operator is set to merge with rival Three after the operators’ two owners agreed a £10.25 billion (€14 billion) deal in March.
Ciena’s 6500 platform is equipped with modules that enable the integration of packet and optical technologies, as well as WaveLogic 3 Coherent Optical Processors.
The vendor said the solution could accommodate several terabits of traffic and respond dynamically to any demand changes.
O2 has more flexibility in how the network is controlled and configured and can satisfy growing, unpredictable demands for high-bandwidth mobile, video and cloud services, Ciena added.
Francois Locoh-Donou, Senior Vice President, Global Products Group at Ciena commented: “In today’s evolving web-scale world, it is crucial for providers like O2 to be able to respond to unpredictable and growing needs in order to deliver an on-demand experience for their customers.”
O2’s CTO Brendan O’Reilly added: “This network enhancement is a great example of O2’s commitment to our mission to provide our customers with a superior user experience.
“By selecting Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform and unified management solutions we will ensure that we have a high-speed and scalable network that can meet our customers’ demands and provide the foundation needed for high bandwidth consuming services.”