Network News: CenturyLink, Infinera, Ciena

Here’s our review of some of today’s noteworthy links for the networking sector of the data center industry:

CenturyLink wins two Federal orders. CenturyLink (CTL) announced it has won two task orders from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that could be worth a total of $9.6 million over the next five years. CenturyLink will provide wide area network services to the FCC, including private line services and Network-Based Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network Services. The company also won a task order to provide Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Services (MTIPS) to the FCC. The MTIPS task order was evaluated at $2.64 million over the next five years.  "One of the FCC's many missions is to protect and promote America's communications infrastructure. This means its communications provider must provide robust, secure networks that allow the FCC to capitalize on today's technology," said Diana Gowen, CenturyLink senior vice president and general manager, who oversees solutions for federal, state and local government customers. "CenturyLink is excited to deliver WAN and MTIPS solutions to the FCC and to have the agency as a customer."

Infinera selected by PIPE networks. Australia telecommunications carrier PIPE Networks Pty Limited (PIPE) has selected Ininera's  (INFN) DTN-X platform for PIPE's submarine cable system, PPC-1. PPC-1 will connect Guam and Sydney using FlexCoherent super-channels on the Infinera DTN-X platform, offering International and Australian carriers increased speed and highly resilient services. “Infinera’s solution for the 100G market provides our network with unique benefits which led to our decision to select the DTN-X platform,” said Lee Harper, Head of Network Engineering for PIPE Networks and the TPG Group. “The DTN-X platform’s interoperability between our existing terrestrial and submarine networks, its ease of use when provisioning services along with the elimination of transponders at cable landing stations all led to our decision. We move a significant amount of data around the country, and deploying the DTN-X allows us to distribute reliable, high-capacity services with great simplicity and with industry-leading provisioning lead times.”

Ciena selected to support Janet6 Infrastructure.  Ciena (CIEN) announced that its 6500 packet-optical platform has been selected for Janet6, the next generation of the national Research and Education network in the United Kingdom. The 100G coherent network will support the exponential growth in bandwidth needed by applications such as large scale e-science, distributed computing and storage, and cost-effectively scale to 400G and beyond as requirements change over time. “Effectively supporting ground-breaking research in the UK as well as international projects, a world leading education sector, and closer links to industry requires a state-of-the art network with the power to catalyse innovation and collaboration amongst our customers," said Jeremy Sharp, Head of Strategic Technologies at Janet. "With Ciena’s pioneering coherent technology and extensive expertise in the research and education sector, Janet’s users will have access to a highly reliable and flexible 100G network that will reach the 400G milestone as requirements evolve.”