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Breaking News - Networking:

MCI Demonstrates 40 Gbps IP Network Connection

MCI announced that through utilizing its optical network it has achieved the fastest Internet Protocol (IP) transmission ever. This technology trial highlights how next-generation technology will address the emerging needs of carriers and service providers to deliver converged IP services, such as data, voice and video, as well as multimedia applications to customers of all sizes.

As MCI continues to execute on its IP convergence strategy, the 40 Gb per second trial signifies a strategic milestone in the evolution of IP networking. It is also a tangible example of MCI's commitment to implementing next-generation technology to enable an all-IP future for its customers.

"MCI continues its strong leadership position by hosting this industry first 40 Gb per second trial over the MCI global IP network," said Jack Wimmer, MCI vice president of Network Architecture and Advanced Technology.

"Today, the promise of high-capacity Internet technology took another big step forward," said Wimmer. "With the rapid growth of broadband access and the continuing need to deliver advanced capabilities to businesses, 40 Gb per second technology will enable MCI to cost-efficiently meet greater customer demand. The advancement today confirms the viability of 40 Gb per second technology."

The technology trial took place over MCI's optical fiber network between points-of-presence (PoPs) located in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., carrying 40Gb per second of traffic over a single full-duplex Optical Carrier (OC)-768c interface. Two IP routers were connected across the MCI network via a wavelength utilizing StrataLight's OTS-4000 Optical Terminal Subsystem.

"MCI has always engineered our network with the future in mind," said Wimmer. "With our previously announced deployment of an Ultra-long haul Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transport network, MCI is preparing our network for the 40 Gb per second evolution."

As an industry leader in the delivery of IP services, one of MCI's objectives is to use its vast global network to enable customers to create, store, deliver and manage their digital media and to deploy applications that simplify, secure and transform their businesses. Forty Gb per second technology enables maximum service flexibility without compromising performance, and sets the stage for MCI to introduce bandwidth-intensive IP-based business applications like web services, multimedia content distribution, Grid computing, real-time imaging and storage networking.

Through 40 Gb per second technology, customers will be able to send larger streams of content and other applications important to their business across the network in just fractions of a second. For example, with 40 Gb per second networking MCI could multicast approximately 2,000 HDTV video streams simultaneously -- four-times faster than today's fastest connection.