05 May 2023

EXA Infrastructure has deployed Infinera’s ICE6 800G coherent optical solution on the EXA Trans Adriatic Express (TAE), a submarine cable system linking EXA’s current European footprint to Turkey via Albania and Greece.

TAE is a joint venture formed between EXA and Trans Adriatic Pipeline Ag (TAP), the owner of a critical new gas pipeline connecting the Caspian Sea to southern Italy. Completed in 2020, the pipeline connects Melendugno in southern Italy through Albania and Greece to the Turkish border at Kipoi. This project creates a unique fibre optic network connecting Milan, Tirana, Athens, Sofia, and Istanbul with high-quality, high-performance, and ultra-reliable digital infrastructure.

EXA selected Infinera’s ICE6-based solution to help meet the rapidly growing bandwidth demand on its state-of-the-art TAE cable link. Infinera’s ICE6 optical engines provide subsea network operators like EXA with industry-leading capacity per cable by leveraging unique features including highly granular baud rate configuration, industry-leading long-codeword probabilistic constellation shaping (LC-PCS), and Nyquist subcarriers that seamlessly integrate with existing third-party line systems.

“As a dedicated operator of hyper scale digital infrastructure, EXA is continuously investing in network expansion projects to further develop the depth and breadth of our current footprint. Our mission is to provide high-quality, reliable, and scalable infrastructure between the locations our customers demand, which are typically the large data centre clusters, cloud regions and cable landing stations,” said Ciaran Delaney, EXA COO. “We selected Infinera’s ICE6 optical engine based on its optical performance in subsea and terrestrial applications. In our deployment of ICE6 elsewhere on our network, we have been impressed with lead times despite a very challenging supply chain environment, and with seamless integration into our existing network. EXA is preparing for growth in this region by deploying ICE6 to enable us to meet this demand.”

“We are pleased to support EXA in deploying proven, industry-leading solutions like ICE6 to quickly and cost-effectively accelerate their service delivery to meet rising customer demands while protecting their subsea network infrastructure investment,” said Nick Walden, senior vice president, worldwide sales, Infinera.