The trials, which took place in March this year, included the transmission of 100G, 200G and 400G, as well as an 800G ‘super channel’.
“With the recent explosion in global connectivity, we have constantly looked for new ways to future-proof our infrastructure and provide more bandwidth for the next-generation of applications and services,” said Neil McRae, chief network architect at BT.
“These trials prove that we’re heading in the right direction, and we’re very proud of our role in this latest milestone in the history of communications.”
The 800G channel was deployed over a 410km network link between the BT Tower in central London and its Adastral Park R&D Centre in Ipswich.
The speeds reportedly equate to the simultaneous transmission of seven HD DVDs in a single second.
BT and Ciena have held a strategic partnership since 2003 and François Locoh-Donou, SVP of global products at Ciena, said that the trials have strengthened this connection.
“With this collaboration agreement, we can further deepen our relationship and work together to build service-enabling and highly-programmable networks, leveraging Ciena’s entire product portfolio to jointly develop ground-breaking services and applications for BT’s customers,” he said.
Earlier this year, BT confirmed that it was actively searching for a partner to help roll-out a domestic mobile network, following its investment in UK 4G spectrum.
