A six-month project to upgrade Vodafone NZ’s entire international optical network is complete, enabling a dedicated, resilient and diverse set of internet pathways upon which international data can be transferred at millisecond speed.

This means Vodafone NZ is now the only operator in New Zealand offering exclusive-use optical capacity across all three international fibre optic cables - Tasman Global Access (TGA), Southern Cross and Hawaiki - providing a service that large organisations are increasingly using to enable dedicated, high speed and high capacity data transfer between countries.

Andrew McDonald, Head of Wholesale, Vodafone NZ explains: “Data transfer is increasingly important in today’s inter-connected world, and organisations like banks and government agencies need to know their data is transferred via reliable and resilient pathways. New Zealanders are consuming around 40% more data every year and so businesses need to plan for future growth in applications.

“This rebuild of our international optical network offers a step-change in how we can manage internet traffic, connecting all three major submarine cables linking New Zealand with Australia, the South Pacific and North America.

“This is important for applications like video calling, where enterprises need to transmit video from thousands of online conference calls between locations across New Zealand and Sydney in millisecond speed. No one likes lags or buffering delays, and this new technology increases capacity on our international fibre optic technology.

“This international optical fibre network is another great example where sensible infrastructure sharing can make sense, enabling us to wholesale services to other industry participants so that they can then in turn provide great retail services to customers.”

Vodafone and Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) have been working closely to complete the network upgrade using the 6500 Converged Packet Optical platform.

“The eruption of the global content economy has made programmable optical networks critical in meeting user demands especially across borders,” said Matt Vesperman, Managing Director for Ciena Australia and New Zealand. “Ciena’s proven track record in coherent technology innovation enables Vodafone to deliver high levels of performance and accelerate innovation.”

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.co.nz

About Vodafone NZ:
Vodafone NZ is one of New Zealand’s leading digital services and connectivity companies, and we believe every New Zealander will thrive with access to the world’s best digital services. We offer more than 3 million connections to Consumer and Business customers, and our existing mobile network covers 98.5% of where Kiwis live, work and play. Vodafone New Zealand is owned by Infratil and Brookfield Asset Management. We are now a partner market in the Vodafone Group, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.co.nz

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking systems, services and software company. We provide solutions that help our customers create the Adaptive NetworkÔ in response to the constantly changing demands of their end-users. By delivering best-in-class networking technology through high-touch consultative relationships, we build the world’s most agile networks with automation, openness and scale. For updates on Ciena, follow us on Twitter @Ciena, LinkedIn, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.