Indian carrier Vodafone Idea has enlisted Ciena to help upgrade its transport network in a deal that will see Ciena supply its WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optics to boost Vi’s ability to support growing bandwidth demands.

Ciena's WL6e technology can support coherent optical transmissions over a single wavelength at speeds up to 1.6 Tbps (1.6T), which the Indian carrier is using to boost its network as it looks to capture new business opportunities with hyperscalers, neoscalers, and enterprise customers.

“This particular technology from Ciena allows us to scale efficiently while meeting the performance expectations of our most demanding customers,” Jagbir Singh, CTO, Vodafone Idea, noted in a statement. “[Vodafone Idea] by doing this is positioning a network to support AI workloads and capture new growth opportunities through enterprise, mobility, and data center.”

Prior to the network upgrade, the Indian carrier employed Ciena’s WL6e optics to reach 1.6Tbps on its meshed data center interconnect network. The pair contend the earlier deployment will act as a foundation for Vodafone Idea as it looks to support up to 800 Gbps (800G) services.

“Vodafone Idea’s deployment of WL6e underscores a continued commitment to network transformation while reinforcing the company’s ability to deliver high-capacity services,” Amit Malik, Ciena’s VP and GM for the region, added.

The Vodafone Idea partnership marks another win in India for Ciena and its WL6e line, following its optics deployment in trials with Space World Group subsidiary Constl. Those efforts achieved a 1Tbps line rate on a single optical channel using WL6e across Constl’s 900-mile Mumbai–Chennai route.

Ciena has also worked with local fiber infrastructure provider Microscan, deploying its prior-gen WL5es last April. The network giant was also previously enlisted by Bharti Airtel to leverage its optics tech to boost fiber network capacity for its 5G customers.

The firm’s latest win in India comes at a time of sizable growth for the Maryland-based firm, having posted record revenues of $1.43 billion in its latest earnings amid soaring demand for its optic solutions from hyperscalers and neoclouds (or to use Ciena's parlance, "neoscalers").