Nokia and i4Networks: Pioneering advanced optical DCI services in Europe

Nokia recently announced a collaboration with i4Networks to deploy advanced optical solutions across the Netherlands, bolstering its status as a prominent European internet hub. This initiative is expected to enhance data transfer speeds and cost-efficiency while supporting the expansion of data centres and international data flows.

By integrating Nokia's optical solutions, i4Networks' SDWS solution marks a shift from traditional IP/MPLS connections, enabling rapid capacity activation in days rather than weeks. This agility extends to the optical layer, allowing i4Networks to offer on-demand service activation with increased capacity and security, catering to the needs of cloud providers, AI operations, media services, and financial trading.

The deployment relies on the Nokia 1830 PSS-8 and 1830 PSI-M optical platforms, which provide a faster, more reliable connection between data centres. Customers can seamlessly scale capacity to 100G or 400G as demand increases. Built-in resilience ensures traffic is rerouted automatically in cases of disruptions.

Dirk Pol, the CEO of i4Networks said, "With Nokia's solutions, i4Networks' SDWS optical service gives our customer unprecedented flexible ways at deploying optical connectivity between data centres in the Netherlands at a fraction of the cost of the current solutions. What once required complex engineering and long lead times can now be done in days, opening new possibilities for reseller, internet exchanges, and cloud providers to deliver secure optical services when and where required"

By adopting the latest ROADM technology, i4Networks can dynamically manage network traffic at an optical level, enhancing operational efficiency, accelerating service rollouts, and solidifying Europe's digital infrastructure.