Windstream, in collaboration with service provider Everstream, today announced the successful deployment of a long-haul 400 Gb/s fiber line between Chicago and Cleveland.

The network operator claims the deployment, which used Infinera's fourth-generation Infinite Capacity Engine and Groove series appliances as well as Juniper Network's 400 Gb/s-capable PTX series transport routers, is among the first commercial deployments of 400 Gb/s coherent optics.

"We're one of the first to roll this [technology] out commercially to a customer," said Joe Scattareggia, EVP of wholesale solutions at Windstream, in an interview with SDxCentral.

For Art Nichols, VP of architecture and technology at Windstream, the deployment was an acknowledgment that 400 Gb/s optics has a role to play in the broader consumer market. "It's not just 400 Gb/s for the data center, it's 400 Gb/s working in the long-haul network," he said.

This technology will substantially increase Everstream's network capacity, which had capped out at 100 Gb/s for businesses in the upper midwest. With this upgrade, Everstream can now offer clients speeds up to 400 Gb/s.

The deployment comes amid a massive increase in bandwidth demands following the onset of the pandemic.

"Starting the first of this year and then leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen a tremendous demand for capacity across the [wholesale fiber market] and on the consumer front," said Scattareggia.

The announcement comes just weeks after the network operator announced Ciena's coherent optics will power its National Converged Optical Network (NCON). When completed, the network will connect Windstream's tier one, two, and three markets to all major U.S. data centers, cable landing stations, and cross-border gateways.

For this, Windstream is using Ciena's Waveserver 5 compact modular platform, which is based on the vendor's 800 Gb/s-capable WaveLogic 5 extreme coherent optics.

However, across long distances, the technology will be tuned down to 400 Gb/s line speeds.

According to Nichols, Windstream plans to continue deploying 800 Gb/s optics throughout its network. "We're going to be very aggressive in adopting those new 800 Gb/s or 1.2 Tb/s, whatever the lot size capacity is," he said, adding that had Infinera's 800 Gb/s-capable ICE6 platform been generally available at the time of the Everstream deployment, Windstream would likely have opted for that over the older ICE4 platform.

In fact, Windstream trialed Infinera's 800 Gb/s optics on a production network between San Diego and Phoenix in June. The two companies were able to achieve peak line speeds over a 730 kilometers span and 700 Gb/s speeds over a distance of 1,460 kilometers.

Despite its recent deployments, 2020 has been a challenging year for the network operator. In February, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in a bid to reduce its debts by more than $4 billion.

Late last month, Windstream announced the initial appointees to its new board of directors in preparation to exit Chapter 11 later this month as a privately held company.

Moving forward, the company aims to expand 1 Gb/s internet service in rural America while expanding its SD-WAN and unified communications-as-a-service offerings.