ACE Strengthens Connectivity between Africa and Europe with Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme

• ACE modernization meets rising connectivity demand from more than 500 million people
• Deployment expands bandwidth over current infrastructure while limiting disruption to live traffic
• Enhanced automation and visibility help operators plan future scale and manage services more efficiently

 The Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable system consortium has selected Ciena  (NYSE: CIEN) to upgrade one of the key routes linking Western Europe, West Africa, and South Africa. Stretching approximately 17,000 km across 18 landing stations, the system uses Ciena’s 6500  powered by WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e ) to deliver more than 30 Tb/s.

“International routes drive economic growth, digital inclusion, and cloud adoption across Africa, and this upgrade gives regional service providers a high-capacity path that reaches more than 500 million people,” said Philippe Recco, President, ACE Management Committee. “Ciena’s coherent optical technology and proven Services team give us confidence that we can keep customers connected while meeting expanding bandwidth needs.”

Ciena Services  is deploying WL6e over ACE’s existing submarine line terminal equipment to scale the system while reducing the need for complex traffic migrations. The team also manages ongoing maintenance and transformation as ACE prepares for greater demand for resilient connectivity across Africa and between Africa and Europe.

“Ciena supports this vital link between Africa and the rest of the world with our subsea deployment expertise and coherent optical innovations,” said Thomas Soerenson, Vice President, Global Subsea, Ciena. “Together, we are expanding existing cable infrastructure and developing a long-term technology roadmap for future growth with minimal operational impact.”

The consortium also uses Ciena’s  Navigator Network Control Suite  to gain complete visualization and management of its services.     Liquid Spectrum  apps such as Channel Margin Gauge provide real-time visibility into the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin for wavelengths, helping ACE identify opportunities to add capacity.