Introducing beyond-the-next-generation speed with the industry’s first Regional 400G, powered by ZR+ technology
Windstream Wholesale, an optical technology leader in fast and flexible advanced solutions, is announcing another industry-leading achievement that goes beyond the next generation of 400G. Coined “Regional Rapid Fiber,” the group’s unique co-development of ZR+ pluggables is enabling the first flexible, regional 400G wave services and offering point-to-point connections within multiple regional sites across Windstream’s Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON).
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“Windstream Wholesale was the first partner to deliver 400G wavelength services to us, and ultimately the reason we partner boils down to the people”
Windstream Wholesale set the industry pace in August 2020, becoming the first to market 400G after successfully completing a 400G LR8 trial (with Everstream). Coverage expanded coast to coast across multiple routes in June 2022 and is now increasing from 80 400G points of presence (POPs) to over 120 400G POPs by year-end. This extensive, three-year, real-world service experience, combined with trusted engineering and technology expertise, led to an exclusive partnership with II-IV (now Coherent Corp) resulting in the co-development and industry-first launch of 400G powered by ZR+ coherent technology.
The Regional Rapid Fiber with ZR+ technology 400G wave service provides customers the freedom to add circuits for flexibility and redundancy, expanding beyond the point-to-point, coast-to-coast connectivity model and focusing on multi-point connections within a regional radius. Connectivity is accessible within approximately 50 regional POPs across Windstream’s ICON network affording customers the following:
- pre-deployed 400G capacity for rapid turn-up;
- unique service flexibility, including technical proof of performance options;
- short-term, event-based 400G options but priced like long-term services;
- r******** migration path from 100G to 400G;
- capacity reservation service, and
- dual, diverse, economic 400G wave options.
The new Regional Rapid Fiber 400G wave service is slated for network deployment and customer turn-up in early summer 2023.
“We’ve been in the business of 400G for a while now and have had time to harden our processes and systems,” said Joe Scattareggia, chief revenue officer for Windstream Wholesale. “That amount of experience and gained expertise is really what sets us apart and is also what led to the partnership and co-development of the ZR+ technology. We’ve lowered connectivity risk for our customers who are seeking trusted, coast-to-coast expansion and upgrade to that next generation of 400G, introducing the first flexible regional 400G wave service (Regional Rapid Fiber) which we know is going to be a market disruptor, both in terms of connectivity and customer cost. We will have a big presence at the International Telecoms Week Conference, and our team is still scheduling meetings to talk about this exciting lead offering along with our new fiber builds and more.”
Windstream Wholesale sets the bar high in industry technical standards with an experienced approach to technology and engineering. Heavy investment in research and development has resulted in better quality products and services, lessening customer risk. The group’s Regional Rapid Fiber ZR+ 400G offering includes no-risk trials to ensure comfort for a customer’s engineering and network operations team by allowing the validation of service viability.
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“The aligned goals and priorities of our Service Delivery and Transport Engineering teams enable industry breakthroughs like we’re seeing with 400G,” said Monther Hammoudeh, senior vice president of transport engineering and operations for Windstream. “From aggressive timelines to fast and flexible, custom solutions, we’re not just developing industry-leading technology and products, we’re laser-focused on delivering solutions that create a winning customer experience.”
“Windstream Wholesale was the first partner to deliver 400G wavelength services to us, and ultimately the reason we partner boils down to the people,” said Steven Schecter, senior director, network architecture, Akamai Technologies, Inc. “The technical teams at Windstream are industry-leading, employing the latest technologies at scale. The sales organization is not only hyper-responsive but deeply involved in understanding the needs of our business and providing tailored solutions.”
Windstream’s Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON) provides open and disaggregated networking infrastructure, enabling wholesale and enterprise technology customers to select unique custom routes, maintain operational insights with Windstream’s Network Intelligence functions, and place their networks closer to the edge to better serve end-users.
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