Verizon has paired with Ciena to transfer 1.6Tbps of data in its live fiber network.

The carrier stated the trial shows how it can ensure its fiber network can support AI and the growing demand for data.

According to Verizon, the purpose of the trial was to deliver data faster and further.

The carrier stated that, by using Ciena's WaveLogic 6 Extreme product, it will be able to deliver significant energy savings in that portion of its fiber network.

Verizon said it was able to complete the data transfer during a trial in Boston, over its live fiber network on a single-carrier wavelength, which used Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optical solution.

The trial was carried out over a 118km Boston metro route, which Verizon notes consisted of 10 hops and passed through nine reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs).

A hop is defined as the number of routers that a packet passes through from its source to its destination.

Verizon stated that the trial is a key part of its plans to ensure its fiber network can support AI.

“AI is contingent on analyzing billions of data points in real-time on an ongoing basis," said Adam Koeppe, SVP of technology strategy and planning at Verizon.

"Because of the massive, multi-year transformation on Verizon’s network including deploying cloud-native architecture from the core to the Edge, deploying massive amounts of high-performing spectrum, exponentially increasing the capacity of our fiber infrastructure, and deploying advanced technologies and intelligence throughout the network, Verizon’s network provides the ability to power the processes and movements of AI-generated activity."

Koeppe adds that this trial is an example of why the company is the "provider of choice for AI workloads now and in the future.”

Just last month, Verizon executives hyped up the potential for Generative AI to provide a solid revenue stream in the future, though warned it won't happen overnight.

Verizon previously announced in August that it's using AI to protect and prevent damage to its fiber infrastructure.

Ciena's WL6e provides 1.6Tbps, single-carrier wavelengths for metro ROADM deployments, which it claims maximizes network coverage for 800G connectivity.

“Ciena’s WL6e is designed to cater to AI traffic growth and the continuing surge in bandwidth-intensive applications,” added Brodie Gage, senior vice president, global products & supply chain, Ciena.

“WL6e uses coherent DSP innovations to provide the highest capacity over fiber, which will support Verizon’s throughput and capacity goals, supporting more traffic and faster speeds than ever before.”

Verizon's multi-vendor Open RAN DAS system

Separately, Verizon announced last week that it has deployed Open RAN-based Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) systems with multiple vendor interoperability at The University of Texas Moody Center and the Austin Convention Center.

The carrier said it's the first DAS system commercially deployed within its network.

Verizon confirmed that both systems use a Samsung vDU with an O-RAN interface to a Commscope DAS.

The operator noted that the deployment is a "major step towards larger-scale, multi-vendor deployments using O-RAN," which impacts the cost of power, space, and cooling by eliminating unnecessary RF (radio frequency) equipment.

“The massive evolution of our network over the past few years including our move to a cloud-based architecture, widespread virtualization, and our aggressive adoption of O-RAN standards and capabilities has enabled us to show O-RAN interoperability success in a commercial environment,” said Koeppe.