Internet provider PSINet Inc. and Nortel
Networks Wednesday activated additional portions of PSINet’s dark fiber network capacity previously acquired from Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc.
PSINet in May acquired dark, or unactivated, fiber optic strands that cover
the New York and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas, as well as the
route between the two cities. The latest activation includes the primary
fiber strands with links to Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, Wilmington, Del.;
Philadelphia, Newark, N.J. and New York.
The fiber will operate at OC-48 speeds capable of transmitting data at 2.4
gigabits per second.
“PSINet has acquired Internet companies and network facilities in the top
markets worldwide. Acquisitions of network capacity and partnerships with
worldwide technologies providers like Nortel Networks, allow PSINet to
quickly take advantage of advances in
transmission speeds, bandwidth reliability, and quality,” said Harold S.
Wills, PSINet’s president and chief operating officer.
“In general, the corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C. carries
most of the Internet traffic that moves throughout the U.S. and onto the
United Kingdom and Europe. This is true for the PSINetwork as well. This
capacity will serve as a critical high speed on-
and off-ramp for our customers in this vital region,” Wills said.
Although the fiber is being activated at OC-48 to start, it can be used for
multiple connections at much higher speeds. Advancements in technologies
such as dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) will increase data
transmission speeds to hundreds of
gigabits and even terabits per second in the near future.
“Provisioning our own capacity as we need it is critical for PSINet as
adoption of the PSINet Internet services continues to grow exponentially
around the globe,” said John Muleta, PSINet’s vice president, capacity planning and
service delivery. “After working with Nortel Networks to
provision the equipment, PSINet engineers can upgrade capacity as needed
without relying on third-parties.”
“We have freedom of action, increased responsiveness, better quality, and
lower operating costs for each unit of bandwidth activated — this is
critical for enhanced customer service and quality of service,” Muleta added.
In addition to the northeast corridor activation, PSINet is also using
Nortel Networks technology to activate additional fiber that was acquired
from IXC Communications Inc. This transcontinental North American OC-48
fiber backbone is now deployed in OC-12 stages. This most recent activation
marks the second stage of the deployment. Both the Northeast corridor
facilities and the transcontinental OC-48 portions of PSINetwork are
connected to PSINet’s OC-3 transatlantic submarine cable systems.