Each announcement points to the same underlying pressure: operators across the region are running out of room on existing infrastructure as AI and cloud workloads scale.
In Australia, Telstra transported four 400GbE client services over a single wavelength across 1,100km between Melbourne and Sydney without regeneration, extending the distance over which the companies had previously demonstrated 1.6Tb/s transmission by around 50%.
The trial ran on a live production network using Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) in L-band spectrum, which Ciena says doubles usable spectrum alongside the traditional C-band and delivers roughly 14% more total system capacity.
“This trial demonstrates how Telstra’s Aura Network can unlock significantly more capacity by extending beyond the traditional C-band into L-band spectrum,” said Sandy Cameron, Telstra Digital Infrastructure Executive. “For customers, that means greater scalability and the ability to support growing demand from AI, cloud, and data-intensive applications across Australia, both today and into the future.”
In New Zealand, Spark Wholesale launched a dedicated DCI service using the same WL6e technology, connecting regional data centres across Auckland at speeds from 10G up to a planned 800G. The launch lands against a market backdrop of 56 data centres already operating in New Zealand, another 20 in the pipeline, and an expected NZ$10 billion of data centre investment over the next decade, according to the companies.
“New Zealand is emerging as a strategic regional hub for hyperscale and AI data centres,” said Matt Vesperman, Ciena’s vice president for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, who is quoted in both announcements. “Spark is taking advantage of this opportunity, creating a foundation for delivering high-speed DCI services with Ciena’s WaveLogic technology.”
Taken together, the two deployments show how intercity long-haul networks are being pushed further with spectrum expansion in one market, and metro-level interconnect built out to keep pace with data centre growth in the other.
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