Network solutions firm Telco Systems has deployed a new 10GE high capacity carrier Ethernet network for the Kenya Education Network (KENET).

KENET is a not-for-profit telecommunications operator focused on education and research institutions. It is also designated as the National Research and Education Network (NREN) of Kenya and provides Internet bandwidth services to member institution campuses.

In a statement, Telco Systems explains that the new carrier Ethernet network replaces the previously used Layer 3 transport network, and has provided internet access and data centre interconnectivity to local academic and research institutions.

The second stage of the project involves the provision of this same connectivity to additional educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools. However, this is still in the planning phase and a timeline has not been finalised, according to Telco Systems.

The network firm says KENET will benefit from greater bandwidth to support more traffic, improve levels of service level agreement (SLA) commitments and traffic engineering possibilities.

The network is managed and orchestrated by Telco Systems' EdgeGenie Orchestrator management system, and is based on the company's T-Metro 8001 10GE service aggregation platforms and T-Marc 3348S 10GE demarcation services. This provides the user with certified CE 2.0 services based on VPLS.

"Telco Systems' impressive track record of delivering solid and affordable communications networking technology attracted us to working with the company," said Professor Meoli Kashorda, Executive Director of KENET. "We are confident that Telco Systems and its technology will support our growth plans and contribute to helping us fulfil our mission of providing high quality communications services to all the educational institutions in our country."

Ariel Efrati, CEO at Telco Systems, said, "We are looking forward to working with KENET and establishing a long term relationship. There is a clear trend of upgrading to 10GE to support growing traffic needs and deliver superior service."

Telco Systems has not disclosed the cost or value of the deal.