Nokia and WorldLink are upgrading 650-km-long backbone network with Nokia's 1830 PSS (Photonic Service Switch) DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology to support bandwidth-hungry entertainment and enterprise services across the country. The intercity network stretches from Kathmandu to Bhairahawa and Birgunj, and provides international connectivity between Nepal and other countries including India.

WorldLink, the largest fixed broadband operator in the Himalayan country, has 120,000 residential broadband subscribers and 5,000 enterprise broadband circuits. It is now connecting  10,000 residential Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service subscribers every month, requiring the operator to meet ever-increasing demand for network capacity. Nokia's optical network technology will allow  WorldLink to flexibly increase its network capacity, reach and density as the technology is powered by the industry's most programmable chipset, Nokia's Photonic Service Engine-2 with super coherent technology (PSE-2s).

Samit Jana, CTO, WorldLink, said: "WorldLink has a commitment to Nepal to transform the communications landscape so that our people and enterprises thrive. This is our largest project to date and it will allow us to provide ultra-fast broadband services for our mobile and fixed network subscribers in cities as well as rural areas across the country."

Sanjay Malik, head of India Market , at Nokia, said: "We are proud to be part of WorldLink's vision to transform Nepal's communications architecture by providing the first 100G transport network. Nokia's highly scalable optical platform will ensure low latency and high resiliency, and allow WorldLink to cost-effectively increase network capacity as needed."

Source: Nokia media announcement