South Korea’s mobile market leader SK Telecom (SKT) is deploying Ciena’s 5430 Packet-Optical Platform, the vendor has confirmed in a press release. With the platform being deployed as SKT looks to upgrade its nationwide infrastructure to deliver wireless services as well as enhanced wireline business and consumer broadband offerings, it has been claimed that the project will allow the South Korean operator’s customers to benefit from extremely high-availability, high-capacity and flexible services that are essential for the cloud and other high-bandwidth, web-scale applications, such as those required for streaming video.
According to Ciena, its 5430 Packet-Optical Platform leverages WaveLogic 3 coherent optics and the latest high density 15Tbps switching capabilities to underpin service delivery. This will be seamlessly integrated into SKT’s existing nationwide network that is already powered by Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform. Further, Ciena’s OneControl will reportedly simplify network management, providing visibility and control across the South Korean operator’s infrastructure, while OneConnect control plane technology, which integrates SDH, OTN and high-capacity Ethernet, will enable SKT to seamlessly align services across the entire SK Telecom Group so it can operate efficiently as a single entity.
Commenting on the development, Choi Seung-Won, Senior Vice President of Network Division at SKT, said: ‘This deployment will ensure that SK Telecom is able to effectively and efficiently support next-generation mobile and business services, preparing the country for the high-bandwidth future and new innovations, such as software defined networking.’