Spanish Service Provider Aire Networks Embraces New EKINOPS FlexRate™ Solution

Reduces size, power needs and cost of 100G/ 200G transport

The two new modules – the PM 200FRS02 and PM 200FRS02-SF – are the latest advanced networking solutions from Ekinops, a leading supplier of next-generation optical network equipment.

With the new modules, service providers can reduce their capital and operational costs and improve the business case for deploying new capacity. Their small form factor provides operational savings with the ability to fit up to 1.2 terabits per second of capacity in only two rack units. That minimizes space requirements while using less than half the power per gigabit of competitive offerings.

In addition, the PM 200FRS02-SF provides single fiber operation, giving service providers the option of cutting fiber costs in half. This single fiber capability was key for Aire Networks, Spain’s fourth largest wholesale operator. It is now using the EKINOPS modules in its 27,000-kilometer fiber network that covers 90 percent of the country.

Aire Networks has seen its traffic double in the first three quarters of 2017 and sought to improve network operations while keeping operational expenses as low as possible. What the service provider really wanted was a solution that would offer 200G transmission in single fiber mode and guarantee scalability for the future and EKINOPS offered the best solution to meet its requirements.

“Not only did EKINOPS offer exactly what Aire Networks needed, they moved quickly to provide the solution to us and were flexible and easy to work with at every step of the way,” said Raúl Aledo Coy, CEO of Aire Networks.

“We have been able to reduce the form factor in these new modules by a factor of three while reducing power requirements by a factor of two. That delivers an order of magnitude improvement in service density and network cost, key factors for Aire Networks and for other EKINOPS customers when it comes to profitability,” said Mark Burton, EMEA Vice President of Sales at Ekinops. “This demonstrates Ekinops’ continued commitment to providing our customers the most efficient and flexible optical transport solutions.”

Both the PM 200FRS02 and PM 200FRS02-SF modules employ dual QSFP28 client ports with software-selectable line side modulation that can be provisioned as either DP-QPSK or 16QAM to create 100G or 200G transport links. These new generation modules provide enhanced functionality in one-third the space of previous equipment, occupying only a single slot in an EKINOPS 360 chassis, for three times the capacity per shelf.

By selecting the modulation format that best meets an operator’s capacity and distance requirements, the PM 200FRS02 and PM 200FRS02-SF can support any metro, regional or long haul application including converged metro transport, data center interconnection (DCI), mobile backhaul, enterprise connectivity and even submarine transport.

EKINOPS is also adding to the flexibility of the modules by introducing the PM 100G-AGG companion card for multiplexing up to ten 10G multiprotocol client services into a G.709 standard OTU4 that connects to one client port on the PM 200FRS02 or PM 200FRS02-SF. This modular approach allows 10G services to be carried efficiently over 100G or 200G links and also allows the service provider to combine both 10G and 100G clients on a single 200G link for greater resource utilization and bandwidth efficiency.