NEC XON has been awarded a contract to deploy a national DWDM network based on ADVA technology for the South African National Research Network (SANReN), which is an initiative of the South African Department of Science and Technology hosted by the Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR).

SANReN's new network solution provides high-speed connectivity to universities and research organisations, as well as Tertiary Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges across South Africa, and enables these institutions to collaborate with their national and global peers.

"We will ensure that every aspect of the deployment is smooth and straightforward by working closely with the teams from SANReN and ADVA," says Ross Templeton, GM of the networking division at NEC XON. "Our dedicated local team provides ongoing support to ensure South Africa's R&E centres get the full value of the new technology. This project is special because it is an ecologically-sound solution with a small footprint that consumes little energy. The in-service monitoring ensures SANReN's increased capacity is also more sustainable. By reducing truck rolls, for support issues, which reduces the carbon footprint, we help create ongoing savings."

The network, based on ADVA's FSP 3000 modular WDM solution, dynamic ROADM, and QuadFlex is flexible, energy efficient, and scalable.

"When it came to upgrading to a coherent, high-bandwidth network, the ADVA FSP 3000 was the ideal solution. It offers excellent performance and superb levels of efficiency for both space and power. With ROADM flexibility and the ADVA ALM providing complete fibre network visibility, this solution will empower us to meet the needs of researchers, educators and students now and in years to come," says Leon Staphorst, Director at SANReN. "With this deployment, we're empowering scientists and academics across the country to go further than ever before. Such an enormous increase in broadband capacity will enable them to push the boundaries of discovery, utilise advanced applications and collaborate with peers in innovative new ways."

The ADVA FSP 3000 is one of the most compact and efficient optical transport solutions in the industry. The new network provides a flexible platform that supports software-defined transmission schemes and scaling for future capacity requirements. Key features include flexgrid with colourless and directionless ROADM technology. The ADVA ALM will monitor SANReN's fibre plant in real time for high network availability and service reliability. SANReN also leverages ADVA's network management technology for operational simplicity and complete control of the entire infrastructure.

"SANReN chose our technology because of the advantages it offers in terms of capacity, energy efficiency and density of design. Fast, reliable connectivity is an essential tool for today's R&E institutions. Together with our partner NEC XON, we're helping to give academics and scientists throughout South Africa access to high-bandwidth applications and enhanced data sharing, creating invaluable opportunities for research teams," says Günter Landers, sales director, Africa, ADVA. "We've created a solution that meets all of SANReN's demands. Our network management solution greatly simplifies the provisioning, monitoring and reporting of network operations and our ALM fibre-assurance technology will be key to providing always-on availability."