DWDM makes it simple: Enron builds IP backbone with Ciena, Cisco

Enron Communications announced last week that it has allied with Ciena Corp. and Cisco Systems to build what it says is the nation's first pure Internet protocol backbone network. It will employ Ciena's dense wavelength division multiplexing and Cisco's routers to offer a high-capacity, low cost network to other service providers.

Using the Ciena and Cisco products will help Portland, Ore.-based Enron follow the industry trend toward DWDM, said Stan Hanks, vice president of research and technology for Enron Communications.

"Both of these companies have shown extreme momentum in deploying this kind of technology," he said. "It's not something that's done lightly. It takes a fair amount of commitment to get it up and running on a network successfully."

Using DWDM in such a network only makes sense, Hanks said. "It lets you put a significant amount of capacity on fiber," he said. "With Ciena's product, you can send traffic over 96 channels of 2.5 Gb/s each."

IP over DWDM has two major advantages, said Denny Bilter, director of marketing for Ciena. "It simplifies the network because you use less equipment," he said. "Then, by using less equipment, you have a lower cost."

The real news in this announcement, Bilter said, is that Enron is the first carrier in the United States to put an entire network in place for data. "Many people have said they are going to do this, but Enron is really doing it. They're putting their network where their mouth is."

Enron chose Ciena's DWDM for its open interface, Hanks said. "It's a Sonet interface, but it doesn't require that you run Sonet across it. Of all the players in the market right now, they have the best technology and the right attitude," he said.

The agreement is a great opportunity for Ciena, especially after its failed acquisition by Tellabs earlier this year, said Christin Flynn, an analyst with The Yankee Group. "They have a good product, and it's unfortunate that things didn't go well for them. They needed some positive news," she said.

Achmad Chadran, an analyst with The Aberdeen Group, agreed. "It's an important validation of Ciena's core strategy," he said.

Running IP over DWDM is "on the cutting edge of what you can do optically," Chadran said, and doing so will set a new level of quality and pricing for fiber networks. "It's very timely for the industry overall to address bandwidth at the backbone level," he said.

Ciena already has shipped equipment worth $23 million for Enron's Portland-to-Los Angeles fiber route, Ciena representatives said.