Info Image

Safaricom Selects Huawei to Deploy E2E 400G Backbone Network

Safaricom Selects Huawei to Deploy E2E 400G Backbone Network Image Credit: Huawei

Kenya's leading telecom operator Safaricom announced that it would select Huawei's end-to-end 400G solution for its next-generation backbone network.

This is the world's first commercial 400G project, advancing backbone network deployment towards the 400G era.

Safaricom is the leading service provider in Kenya with over 29.5 million subscribers, 22 million mobile money customers, 17.6 million data subs, 15,000 enterprise customers and over 220K FTTH homes passed. In 2018, its broadband users grew by 2.5-fold, and its mobile and fixed network traffic are estimated to increase by 6-fold and 5-fold, respectively, over the next three years. This will require modernization of the existing equipment to accommodate capacity requirements.

The 400G backbone will replace Safaricom’s existing 100G backbone increasing the capacity of network traffic carried between Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu. Through the solution, Safaricom seeks to meet growing data consumption from its customers resulting from the expansion of its fiber to the home and enterprise fiber networks. The firm has also been experiencing a year-on-year doubling of mobile data usage on its network.

To deal with increasing data traffic over the next decade and maximize network value, Safaricom selected Huawei's end-to-end 400G solution. The ultimate goal is to further improve network reliability automation, and optimize user experiences.

Thibaud Rerolle, CTO, Safaricom
Huawei's end-to-end 400G solution coordinates router and WDM planning and maximizes network value. It will help us fully utilize network resources, and optimize the forwarding cost per bit while ensuring high reliability. Our aim is to offer faster, more innovative, and higher-quality services to our customers.

Jeffy Gao, President of Huawei Router & Carrier Ethernet Product Line
Huawei has played an active role in advancing the 400G industry, and has invested heavily in NP chips support 400GE port, high-speed optical digital signal processors (ODSPs), and backbone network standards and products.

Author

Ray is a news editor at The Fast Mode, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the wireless industry.

For tips and feedback, email Ray at ray.sharma(at)thefastmode.com, or reach him on LinkedIn @raysharma10, Facebook @1RaySharma

PREVIOUS POST

TIM, Xiaomi Team Up to Bring 5G Solutions and Terminals to the Italian Market

NEXT POST

Telefonica Showcases Broadcast and TV Production Solution with 5G