Fiber connectivity provider Altibox Carrier conducted a 1.6 Tb/s single-carrier wavelength transmission on a live subsea cable, in an apparent world first.

The feat was achieved using Ciena's WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optics technology, applied to the NO-UK subsea cable that connects Norway with the U.K.

The 1.6 Tb/s channel ran error-free while maintaining a spectral efficiency exceeding 9 b/s/Hz, with Ciena’s tech enabling the provider to scale capacity while maintaining a live, in-service network carrying actual traffic.

The feat comes amid explosive growth in data center demand, with a recent report from energy data platform Ember suggesting the Nordics will see data center growth soar by up to 110% by 2030.

The region is already a strategic home to hyperscale data centers, with emerging expansions underway, including Telenor setting up an 'AI factory' in Norway, and Ericsson among firms supporting a build-out of AI infrastructure in Sweden.

Altibox suggested the results will boost its ability to handle bandwidth-intensive applications like AI and high-definition video streaming, and cloud computing services coming out of the region.

“The global data center market, especially in Norway, is undergoing historic expansion,” said Svein Arild Ims, Altibox’s CEO. “This positions us to deliver higher-capacity, resilient pathways across Europe and to key international hubs.”

The tests were part of Altibox Carrier's ongoing network modernization efforts, with the provider having recently completed an 800G network upgrade utilizing Ciena's Waveserver 5 platform to provide high-capacity connections between Norway and major European digital hubs like Amsterdam, London, and Hamburg.

Altibox is the second Nordic connectivity provider in recent months that Ciena has helped support network improvements. In June, it partnered with Arelion to overhaul its network infrastructure in the region, deploying its 400G coherent pluggable optics as part of upgrade efforts to make it AI-ready.

Away from Europe, Ciena recently supported high-speed network improvements in South Africa with DFA, deploying its WL6es to power a 1.6 Tb/s transmission over a single wavelength.

Thomas Soerensen, Ciena’s VP for global submarine solutions, said its latest deployment will allow Altibox to "efficiently scale its network and address surging bandwidth demands driven by AI, cloud, and data center expansion."