Telia Carrier first in the world to launch 400GE-ready backbone network with Cisco

Telia Carrier, operating the world’s No. 1 ranked Internet backbone, has launched the first-of-its-kind, full-scale, 400GE-ready network backed by Cisco cloud-scale routing technology. The launch follows Telia Carrier’s successful deployment of more than 10,000 new 100GE ports during 2019 using the same platform.

A rise in Telia Carrier’s customer base, exceeding 2,000 customers in more than 120 countries, with an unquenchable thirst for on-demand content, meant finding a solution with more capacity, speed and efficiency than Telia Carrier’s previous network infrastructure could manage. 

The upgraded carrier network, now supported by Cisco NCS5500 series routers, gives Telia Carrier customers global reach to more service provider networks than any other carrier in the world. That level of network density means more content streaming, gaming and constant connectivity for its customers, in more places than ever before. These services will be delivered consistently and with ubiquitous building blocks at speeds ranging from 1GE all the way to 400GE. 

The ongoing standardization of 400GE coherent technologies also incentivises new, simplified and partially disaggregated IP over DWDM architectures. The NCS5500 will play a key role in realizing Telia Carrier’s ambitions to spearhead that wave as they are already deploying open optical line systems across several continents.

“Conventional architectures and technologies built on decades of accumulated complexity and yesterday's truths fall short in helping us keep up with customer demands for more, consistent bandwidth and a high-quality experience. This is especially true as more value is shifting to software, hardware cycles are becoming shorter and ongoing 400G standardization is poised to finally disrupt the optical networking market,” said Staffan Göjeryd, CEO, Telia Carrier. “With Cisco leading the market in high capacity transport, they were the perfect fit to help us reach this monumental milestone to continue to perform at the highest calibre, while also reducing costs.”

“We are aligned in our mission to make connections reach further and bring the world closer through innovative technology,” said Kevin Wollenweber, Vice President of Networking, Cisco Service Provider Business. “Combining Cisco’s cloud-scale technology with the strength of the Telia Carrier network, we are helping Telia Carrier customers across more than 120 countries realize the full potential of what the Internet for the Future can do for them.”