Ciena will support EXA Infrastructure’s new U.S. route between Virginia and Georgia, as the operator extends its North American network with 400-Gb/s connectivity.

The new route covers the area from Ashburn, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia, traversing the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Ciena’s provision includes its 6500 Reconfigurable Line System (RLS) and 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, the latter of which leverages Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) 800-Gb/s coherent optics.

Ciena’s Navigator Network Control Suite will also be used by EXA for end-to-end network control and visibility.

EXA said the 400-Gb/s capability was designed to satisfy hyperscaler and enterprise demand for data center connectivity and increasing AI demand on networks. A recent report by Dell’Oro Group found that AI led to a 51% increase in global data center capex in 2024, hitting $455 billion in investment. More than half of that investment was driven by custom accelerators from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud, with their AI training workloads fueling most of the growth.

“We are seeing a renewed desire across our U.S. network for increased 'highly available' bandwidth with versatile connectivity and interface options. Our new Ashburn-Atlanta route, leveraging Ciena’s optical RLS technology, allows us to meet these needs while future proofing further technology advancements on our network," said Ciaran Delaney, COO, EXA Infrastructure.

"This new route enhances our ‘multi corridor’ transatlantic ‘digital bridge’ to Europe and beyond, providing unmatched scalability, route diversity, and seamless high-speed connectivity on a global scale.”

“Ciena is committed to empowering businesses like EXA Infrastructure to navigate the ever-changing landscape with confidence. With a deep understanding of the expanding data center connectivity market and AI-driven data boom, we worked closely with EXA to deploy a network that is optimally prepared to handle AI technologies, making it possible for their customers to seize the opportunities that lie ahead,” added Virginie Hollebecque, vice president and leader of EMEA, Ciena.

Ciena’s EXA Infrastructure deal follows the recent deployment of its coherent technology across the U.S. by Comcast, in a partnership designed to help broaden fiber connectivity in underserved areas.

Ciena’s optical technology suite was also recently used by Vietnamese carrier Viettel as part of its 5G buildout, while its WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optics tech was tapped by Norway’s Altibox for a 1.6-Tb/s subsea transmission.

Ciena also supported the high-capacity backbone connecting a smart city project in Morrow, Georgia, to the Atlanta Internet Gateway.

The project leveraged 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.