Aligned with IEEE’s Anticipated Ratification of the New 400 Gb Ethernet Industry Standard

AT&T* successfully completed testing a single-wavelength 400 gigabit Ethernet (GbE) data speed across its production network. This was the final phase of our multi-step trial. This trial of an IEEE standards-based 400 GbE end-to-end circuit demonstrates our intent to lead the industry in providing next-generation speeds – helping transform the way our customers do business.

“Introducing 400 GbE is a natural next step. Customer demands have shifted to faster speeds, more video-centric content and cloud integration,” said Roman Pacewicz, chief product officer, AT&T Business. “We consistently provide top-quality services to businesses and are proud to pave the way for this industry innovation.”

This industry-first also aligns with our shift toward an open and software-centric network. Utilizing open-source controller technology, the end-to-end service transported across the AT&T OpenROADM metro network – using optical gear from Ciena, a developer of next-generation coherent optical solutions – provides further flexibility and cost-effective services for customers. Prior to this successful trial, all other field demonstrations have required multiple wavelengths to create a 400 GbE connection.

A next-generation network speed provides businesses like online video streaming services, search engines and mobility companies with the ability to transfer massive amounts of data at record speeds. For example, a service provider could transport:

  • Approximately ten, 2-hour movies in less than a second.
  • 100,000 streaming movies at the same time.

We also used open-sourced white boxes to act as network equipment during the trials. This additional flexibility helps control costs and create interoperability between the foundational hardware elements of the network.

Thanks to the successful completion of these trials, we can upgrade our network backbones to offer 400 GbE and prepare to offer ultra-fast speeds to businesses – helping to meet their growing demand for more bandwidth.

*About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, business, mobile and high speed internet services. We offer the nation’s best data network** and the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider. We’re one of the world’s largest providers of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. Nearly 3.5 million companies, from small to large businesses around the globe, turn to AT&T for our highly secure smart solutions.

AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att and on YouTube at youtube.com/att.

© 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

**Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q1 + Q2 2017 across 121 markets.

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