1Gbit/s MAN sends data down the drain

Network infrastructure business Geo has announced a new Ethernet service called Geo.Metro, which runs over the London network it bought from Thames Water and the National Grid six months ago.

Geo said the service offers better security and availability than rival offerings because the fibre runs through sewers, which are two metres below the normal duct level and so normally would not require digging up when there is a problem.

A five-year contract for a site-to-site 1Gbit/s connection carries an annual rental fee of £9,000 and an initial £9,000 installation charge.

Geo managing director Chris Smedley said, “Large firms take their data requirements seriously and are realising that systems involving dedicated fibre give them the scalabilty, performance and flexibility that they need”.

In other news, digital optical network provider Infinera has announced the transmission of a 100Gbit/s Ethernet test signal across an existing 4,000km live production network provided by Level 3 Communications using ten 10Gbit/s channels.

The demonstration used technology from high-speed datacoms specialists Finisar, Infinera, Internet2 and the University of California at Santa Cruz. The system uses a single-chip, 100GbE network interface that bonds 10 parallel 10Gbit/s channels using “a lane alignment and packet re-sequencing scheme”.

Ovum-RHK’s communication components research vice-president Daryl Inniss said, “This successful demonstration shows that this concept of 100GbE over 10x10 Gbit/s DWDM works and provides a near-future implementation path.”