NTT upgrades JUNO submarine cable

In a bid to significantly boost capacity on what could be a key communications link over the next few decades, and support Japan’s digital hub ambitions, Seren Juno Network Co and Seren Juno Network America Inc (Seren), operator of the NTT DATA-led JUNO submarine cable system, have announced that they will deploy the Ciena GeoMesh Extreme optical technology, powered by WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e).

Located midway between the US and key Asian markets, Japan has played the important role of data hub in the Asia-Pacific region. As such, JUNO, a cable length of approximately 11,700km linking the US and Japan, is expected to be an ideal addition to the undersea cable network and key to supporting the global internet backbone, and further growth in Asia-Pacific countries and worldwide.

With global internet bandwidth rising rapidly over the past decade, it’s expected to continue its upward growth trajectory driven by the deployment of 5G, internet of things (IoT) and edge compute technologies. With existing Japan-US cables nearing capacity, Seren said JUNO was very much needed to meet the increasing demand for global internet bandwidth.

The JUNO cable is scheduled to launch at the end of 2024, supporting the delivery of high-capacity services across Asia Pacific. Seren Juno Network Co believes JUNO can provide fast and reliable network services to global major global technology companies, OTTs and telecommunication carriers by enabling them to strengthen the telecommunications environment in the US and Asia, through reliable and secure sales, operations and management support.

Said to offer several unique benefits to customers, JUNO has been designed to introduce to customers what is claimed to be leading-edge space division multiplexing (SDM) technology, enabling the provision of 20 optical fibre pairs (40 cores) per cable. This is a distinct advantage on conventional technology, which currently provides a maximum of 16 fibre pairs, or 32 cores. The expected maximum capacity is 350Tbps, and is said to be able to alter the amount of bandwidth to each branch route according to demand, and in response to customers’ evolving requirements. 

The partners now say the JUNO cable will enjoy unprecedented fibre capacity and spectral efficiency, with Ciena’s performance-optimised WL6e delivering ubiquitous 800Gb, 400Gb and 100Gb services.

JUNO will also benefit from Ciena’s Navigator Network Control Suite, which provides operational efficiencies for the cable, simplifying and accelerating planning, provisioning and assurance workflows. Additionally, Ciena Services will provide submarine-specific automation for installation, spectrum activation and testing for time savings and improved spectrum optimisation. Submarine line terminal equipment technical support will also be provided to maintain network reliability.

Commenting on the installation, Seren CEO Yoshio Sato said: “NTT DATA is dedicated to providing reliable global internet infrastructure and Ciena’s industry-leading WaveLogic 6 coherent optical technology will enable JUNO to start strong. We continue to see demands to build our global digital economy, and capacity and network performance are critical pillars to support this rapid growth.”

“Existing Japan-US cables are nearing capacity limits, and there is a need to meet the growth of bandwidth-intensive applications associated with AI, cloud-based services and streaming videos,” added Thomas Soerensen, vice-president of global submarine solutions at Ciena. “Powered by WL6e, the JUNO cable, which is the largest trans-Pacific submarine cable system, will be ready to hit new service delivery targets as soon as it launches.”