Ciena and KT build first nationwide 600G transmission route in South Korea

Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) in collaboration with KT, has successfully completed the construction of South Korea’s first nationwide 600G transmission network. This project by the South Korean telecommunications company is an initiative to proactively address the rapidly increasing data traffic related to AI, cloud, and 5G, and to prepare for future services such as 6G.

The transmission network, operational since September 2023, spans over 1,000 km and is capable of transmitting 600G per wavelength in long-distance segments, connecting major cities nationwide from Seoul to Busan, Gwangju, and even Jeju Island.

Leveraging Ciena’s 6500 flexible grid Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) photonic layer with WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optics, and Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller, the transmission route provides a foundation to handle rapidly increasing bandwidth needs.

Henry Kim, Regional Managing Director of Ciena North Asia, stated: “As pioneers in coherent optical technology, Ciena has been supplying optical transmission equipment capable of delivering 100G and 400G services to domestic telecom operators. The 600G transmission network introduced by KT is expected to provide a groundbreaking, cost-effective solution for transmitting high-capacity traffic throughout South Korea. This, in turn, is anticipated to enhance dedicated circuit services significantly.”

About KT
KT has been leading the development of the information and communications industry of Korea since its foundation in 1981.

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a global leader in networking systems, services, and software. We build the most adaptive networks in the industry, enabling customers to anticipate and meet ever-increasing digital demands. For three-plus decades, Ciena has brought our humanity to our relentless pursuit of innovation. Prioritizing collaborative relationships with our customers, partners, and communities, we create flexible, open, and sustainable networks that better serve all users—today and into the future. For updates on Ciena, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

Note to Ciena Investors
You are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website, where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, forecasts, information and assumptions. These statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties.  Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those stated or implied, because of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our  expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies and can be identified by words such as "anticipate" "believe" "could" "estimate" "expect" "intend" "may" "should" "will" and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.