Networking giant Ciena has been brought in by eCommunity Fiber to support the high-capacity backbone connecting a smart city project in Morrow, Georgia, to the Atlanta Internet Gateway.

The project leverages Ciena’s 5,164 routers and multilayer network control solutions to power "The District," Morrow’s central smart city hub, with open-access, high-bandwidth connectivity.

Ciena’s Navigator Network Control Suite will manage and monitor the infrastructure, which is designed to support a fully integrated, four-tier private network, including fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP), public WiFi, LoRaWAN for IoT devices, and 4G LTE/5G wireless.

“Ciena’s routers and multilayer management provide the high-capacity, low-latency connectivity that’s essential for a successful smart city initiative,” Kevin Sheehan, CTO of the Americas at Ciena, explained in a statement.

The eCommunity Fiber-led project aims to deploy a hybrid fiber and wireless network to provide high-speed Internet connectivity for local businesses at venues. The site also plans to serve as a testbed for IoT innovations and “advanced public-safety applications.”

Upon the launch of the initiative last June, eCommunity Fiber said its Ciena-backed network would initially offer 1 Gb/s connections with a view to scale up to 100 Gb/s.

As part of its rejuvenation efforts, The District is constructing an 8,500-square foot Convocation Center and an outdoor event venue that will house a public WiFi venture.

“The City of Morrow very much understands the difference between Internet access and connectivity and how to prepare themselves for the future of technology,” Jerrald Rector, COO of eCommunity Fiber, added.