Telxius and Ciena Achieve Record 1.3 Tb/s Atlantic Link

A milestone in the global telecommunications sector, Telxius and Ciena have completed the world’s first live 1.3 Tb/s single wavelength transmission across the Atlantic Ocean.

The record-breaking demonstration utilised Telxius’ 6,600km Marea submarine cable, linking Virginia Beach, Virginia, to Bilbao, Spain. The milestone not only marks a new era in subsea connectivity but sets the stage for future innovation in supporting the exponential growth of AI and data centre traffic worldwide.

Pioneering technology: Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme

The transmission was powered by Ciena’s cutting-edge WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) technology. Leveraging the latest advances in coherent optics, it achieved the highest-ever spectral-efficiency transmission across the Atlantic, reaching an unprecedented 7.0 bits/s/Hz. 

Thomas Soerensen, Vice President of Global Submarine Solutions at Ciena, commented: “This achievement with Telxius is the latest in a series of Ciena industry-firsts in coherent optics. WL6e will help Telxius provide high-capacity, diverse, and low-latency routes across the Atlantic. It will enable it to stay ahead of the evolving needs of its customers as demand for AI, content, video, and cloud applications continues to grow.”

Meeting the demands of a bandwidth-hungry digital economy

The telecommunications industry is experiencing an unprecedented surge in bandwidth demand, driven by the proliferation of AI, cloud services and content-rich applications. Telxius is positioning itself at the forefront of this transformation. 

Carlos Dasi, CTIO at Telxius, stated: “We are committed to continually upgrading our network with new and enhanced systems to better support our customers.

"With advancements like Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme, deploying more capacity in the most efficient way possible is now a reality. This latest milestone demonstrates our ability to deliver that capacity across even the vastest of distances in today’s bandwidth-hungry digital economy.”

Telxius: a global connectivity powerhouse

Telxius operates one of the world’s most extensive and advanced connectivity ecosystems. Its infrastructure includes nine next-generation fibre optic submarine cables and terrestrial backhauls spanning over 100,000 km.

With 100 Points of Presence (PoPs), 26 landing stations and data centres worldwide, Telxius delivers a comprehensive suite of network and transport, colocation and security services, as well as direct internet connectivity via its Tier-1 IP network.

The robust platform enables Telxius to meet the evolving requirements of carriers, hyperscalers and enterprise customers on a global scale.

Ciena: driving network innovation

As a global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena continues to redefine what is possible in optical networking. Its WaveLogic 6 Extreme is the industry’s first high-bandwidth coherent transceiver built on state-of-the-art 3nm silicon.

The innovation delivers significant economic benefits for operators, including a 50% reduction in space and power per bit. By integrating advanced networking systems, automation software and services, Ciena empowers its partners to thrive in the era of AI and data-driven applications.

Scaling for the future

Telxius plans to deploy Ciena’s WL6e technology across selected submarine systems throughout its network in 2025 and beyond. The strategic initiative will further enhance its ability to deliver high-capacity, low-latency and resilient connectivity solutions across continents. 

The successful 1.3 Tb/s transmission across the Atlantic sets a benchmark for subsea data transport, demonstrating how industry leaders are responding to the surging demands of the digital economy.

As AI, cloud and content applications continue to drive bandwidth requirements, operators and enterprises can look to Telxius and Ciena for the next generation of scalable, efficient, and high-performance network solutions.

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