Research and Education Network RISQ to Connect Quebec's Universities with Adaptive All Optical Intelligent Solution from Nortel
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Agile Network will Provide Bandwidth Flexibility, Reliability, Lower Costs
MONTREAL, May 15 / Le Reseau d'informations scientifiques du Quebec (RISQ), Quebec's scientific information network, has selected an adaptive all optical solution from Nortel(x) (NYSE/TSX: NT) to enable the upgrade of its optical backbone to an intelligent network with the high levels of bandwidth flexibility and reliability that its research and education customers demand.
The new optical backbone will dramatically increase the total capacity of the RISQ network, as well as expand the reach of the network across the region. The Nortel deployment will connect the major universities and research centers in the province of Quebec, including UQAM (University du Quebec a Montreal), McGill University, Universite Laval, Universite de Sherbrooke, UQO (Universite du Quebec en Outaouais), several new school board facilities, and multiple CEGEPs (college of general and vocational education) in the region.
CANARIE, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to advancing Canada's research networks, is providing CDN $3 million in financial support to RISQ to fund this network expansion.
"With Nortel's advanced optical solution and CANARIE's generous funding, the RISQ network's capacity and reliability will be significantly improved," said Michel Vanier, general manager, RISQ. "These important network and technology advancements will make it possible for Quebec's universities to participate fully in leading-edge international research."
At the core of the network in Montreal, RISQ will take advantage of enhanced reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing (eROADM) capabilities in the Nortel Common Photonic Layer (CPL) platform designed to enable a much more flexible, scalable and cost-effective network than was previously possible. Nortel's eROADM functionality allows the dynamic redirection of individual optical wavelengths, simplifying the network and giving RISQ the ability to cost-effectively and dynamically add, remove and redirect wavelengths in its network.
"RISQ is the latest in a long tradition that Nortel has in close collaboration and support of the world's most advanced optical research networks," said Philippe Morin, general manager, Optical Networks, Nortel. "Nortel's commitment to innovation with breakthrough optical technologies such as our enhanced ROADM capabilities is an important part of helping research networks like RISQ lower the costs associated with operating a world-class optical network."
When the project is complete, RISQ will be able to assign dedicated optical routes according to member needs, providing Gigabit Ethernet and 10-Gigabit Ethernet capabilities via the Nortel Optical Multiservice Edge (OME) 6500, as well as managed wavelength services at up to 10Gbps.
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) capabilities will enable RISQ to transmit up to 72 wavelengths of high bandwidth traffic at 10Gbps over a single fiber strand, dramatically increasing the total capacity of the network.
The Nortel OME 6500 is an optical convergence platform that converges multiple services and network layers onto a single platform, allowing a smoother migration to a more reliable and scalable Ethernet infrastructure while maintaining reduced infrastructure costs. The OME 6500 has been deployed in over 90 networks globally. The Nortel CPL is an intelligent, continuously self-optimizing, modular DWDM transport platform designed for cost-effective metro, regional and long haul networks. The CPL has been deployed in over 25 networks around the world.
About RISQ
RISQ (for Reseau d'informations scientifiques du Quebec, Quebec's Scientific Information Network) was incorporated in 1998 and has become, with the financial assistance of the ministere de l'Education du Quebec, a unique telecommunications entity at the service of research and educational institutions. RISQ provides sophisticated telecommunications services and infrastructure to Quebec's research and educational institutions. RISQ also provides these institutions the best possible access to the information they need to fulfill their research and instructional requirements. Finally, RISQ offers support services for innovation and for the deployment of networked applications. For more information, visit http://risq.qc.ca/.
About CANARIE Inc.
CANARIE Inc., Canada's advanced Internet organization is a not-for-profit corporation supported by its members, project partners, and the federal government. CANARIE's mission is to accelerate Canada's advanced Internet development and use by facilitating the widespread adoption of faster, more efficient networks and by enabling the next generation of advanced products, applications and services to run on them. Following a funding agreement with Industry Canada, CANARIE. Inc. designed, developed and is operating CA(x)net 4, Canada's National Research and Innovation Network.
About Nortel
Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that enhance the human experience, ignite and power global commerce, and secure and protect the world's most critical information. Our next-generation technologies, for both service providers and enterprises, span access and core networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications, and help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people with information. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit nortel.com/news.
Source: Nortel
CONTACT: Bo Gowan, (972) 685-8278, bogowan@nortel.com; Patricia Vernon, (905) 863-1035, patricve@nortel.com
