Djibouti Telecom works with Ciena to upgrade submarine cable

By: Developing Telecoms

Ciena, a networking systems, services and software company, says it is working with Djibouti Telecom to increase digitisation in the East Africa region by deploying Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution to upgrade one of Djibouti Telecom’s submarine cable systems.

As part of a consortium of telecoms operators, Djibouti Telecom operates eight submarine cable systems, including DARE1 (Djibouti Africa Regional Express1), which crosses Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia. Faced with growing traffic driven by widespread remote work and learning, Djibouti Telecom set out with Ciena to upgrade DARE1.
The GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution, which utilizes the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform powered by the WaveLogic family, allows a doubling of line rates to 400 Gbps. Spectrum-sharing capabilities enable the partitioning of submarine optical spectrum to different end users for more efficient use of undersea assets. The network is managed via Ciena’s manage, control and plan (MCP) domain controller.

Djibouti is situated on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes and the nation is a connectivity hub for East Africa. Upgrading the DARE1 network will help to increase digitisation in the East Africa region, which, Ciena says, has been widely underserved when it comes to international connectivity.

“Leveraging Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, Djibouti Telecom expands the capacity of DARE1 to make possible dynamic new 10G, 100G, and spectrum sharing services for an increasingly digital world,” said Ian Clarke, Vice President of Global Submarine Solutions, Ciena.

Djibouti Telecom is a state-owned monopoly at the moment but, as we reported in August, that may soon change. The country has set Thursday 16 September as the deadline for investors to express interest in taking a 40 percent stake in the incumbent operator.