Internet2, a non-profit, member-driven advanced technology community, has chosen the CenturyLink fiber network to transform and enhance network performance.
CenturyLink’s optical fiber is ITU-T G.652.D compliant and designed to be optimized for high bit rate coherent systems using advanced modulation schemes supporting 100G and above. Internet2 also chose CenturyLink to provide the professional services to migrate to the new platform, which will be equipped with a flex-grid open-line system from Ciena. The new contractual fiber-use agreements will extend through at least 2042.
The new Internet2 Network infrastructure will use CenturyLink’s low-loss optical fiber on the majority of the Internet2 footprint to extend optical reach at very high data rates and eliminate certain impairment challenges while also boosting optical signal-to-noise ratio.
“We believe the combination of the most advanced fiber from CenturyLink with the latest coherent transmission technologies from Ciena provides enormous opportunities to enable research and academic pursuits in the United States,” said Rob Vietzke, vice president of network services for Internet2, in a prepared statement. “Whether it is tracking the origins of Neutrinos in the Antarctic, comparing gene sequences or studying the climate, this new optical network, with its ability to span very long distances at very high bandwidths [with] improved efficiency, is essential to providing the best research infrastructure for data-intensive science on the globe.”
Internet2’s core infrastructure components include the nation’s largest and fastest research and education network. The network currently connects 321 U.S. universities, 60 government agencies, 43 regional and state education networks and through them supports more than 100,000 community anchor institutions, among others.
“Internet2’s selection of CenturyLink recognizes the company’s long-standing relationship with the research and education community and our commitment to meet the community’s ever-increasing advanced technology needs,” said Sonia Ramsey, CenturyLink’s vice president for the state and local government and education market, in a prepared statement. “”
Image courtesy of flickr user Matthew Wilson.
