Openreach Deploys 800G Ultra-High-Capacity Technology Nationally Using Ciena Equipment
Openreach has begun a nationwide rollout of 800G optical services, marking the first time the infrastructure provider has offered this capacity level across the UK using Ciena's Waveserver platform and WaveLogic 6 technology. The deployment targets wholesale customers needing to transfer large data volumes between data centers and international subsea cable landing points. This infrastructure upgrade positions Openreach to support growing demand from artificial intelligence applications and critical national infrastructure requirements.
Openreach's deployment leverages Ciena's WaveLogic 6 technology, which delivers 1.6 terabits per second capacity per wavelength. Each chassis unit can simultaneously support up to 32 separate 400G services, enabling the infrastructure provider to meet escalating data transmission needs across interconnected facilities including data centers and international subsea cable terminals throughout the United Kingdom.
This upgrade represents a significant capacity expansion within Openreach's Optical Spectrum Extended Access portfolio. The company anticipates wholesale customers will utilize this enhanced infrastructure for high-volume data movement between private cloud networks and international submarine cable landing points, positioning the national backbone to accommodate emerging computational demands.
This infrastructure advancement could facilitate faster data processing for artificial intelligence workloads and support critical national systems requiring reliable high-capacity connectivity. Wholesale customers—including data center operators and cloud service providers—may benefit from improved capacity and performance for international data transfers. However, the full societal impact depends on how extensively these capabilities are adopted and whether capacity gains translate into accessible pricing for businesses across sectors relying on robust digital infrastructure.