Biznet bolstered Indonesia's inter-island connectivity across Java, Sumatra, and Bangka Islands.

The internet service provider (ISP) deployed Ciena's 6500 Packet-Optical, which leverages WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) 800 Gb/s (800G) coherent optics, on the international link of its Biznet Nusantara Cable System-1 (BNCS-1) submarine cable. Ciena Services and Ciena partner Terrabit Networks were named as partners on the venture.

The upgrade aims to deliver 400 Gb/s (400 G) high-speed services, while also developing Indonesia's digital infrastructure. Biznet added it is using Ciena’s Navigator Network Control Suite to access advanced network control, planning, and automation abilities.

Adi Kusma, president director at Biznet, noted the project built on a 2022 network expansion with Ciena across the Indonesian Archipelago.

“As we enter the AI era, internet connectivity goes beyond necessity, it is the core foundation for delivering faster, stable and seamless digital experiences,” Kusma noted in a statement.

The director's comments come after Ciena CEO Gary Smith recently told SDxCentral that his firm's optics-based inside-the-data-center strategy is “really the only technology” capable of enabling distances and volumes needed for the immense buildout required by surging AI workloads.

“You saw it on the outside of the data center over the last 20, 30 years. It's moved from electrical to optical," Smith said. "Ciena's been a massive beneficiary of that. We see the same dynamic happening inside the data center over time now. And so these investments that people like Nvidia have made in the optical ecosystem, frankly, validate that hypothesis.”

Biznet's deployment follows work on the 1,055-kilometer Matrix Cable System (MCS) route linking Indonesia with Singapore. As reported last week, operator Matrix NAP Info bolstered the Batam–Jakarta segment of the route using more Ciena tech, specifically the firm's GeoMesh Extreme solution incorporating the WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optics solution.