Capacity Media sat down with CRO, Joe Scattareggia and SVP of Products, Marketing & Strategy, John Nishimoto during ITW 2023.
Reporter, Saf Malik, joins the duo to discuss 400G products, areas of focus moving forward and why ITW is the “Super Bowl”
of conferences.
Mediacom VP of IP Networks, Greg Euker, joins Windstream Wholesale
CRO, Joe Scattareggia to discuss bridging the digital divide through strategic network expansion and the importance of leveraging partnerships with trusted providers. Greg also highlights the service evolutions occurring as optical technology advances and the industry moves into and beyond the next generation with 400G.
Art Nichols, Windstream CTO, returns for an exclusive discussion with Windstream Wholesale CRO, Joe Scattareggia, sharing his perspective on the industry’s constant continuum of technology and leading the way in the market. Art shares his insight into Windstream’s first-to-market Next Gen 400G achievement in 2020, including advancements and refinements since, and now pioneering beyond Next Gen with Regional Rapid Fiber 400G – enhancing the coast-to-coast network footprint with game-changing ZR+ pluggables.
Windstream Wholesale set the pace in 2020 as the first to market 400G. Our coast-to-coast long-haul coverage offers 120 400G POPs (80 current; 40 more by YE 2023) across our Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON).
Our proven engineering, service delivery, and 400G install experience provides a seamless transition from 100G to 400G – in addition to high-capacity, low-latency transport, and industry-leading turn-up intervals.
Explore our coverage and connectivity options and stay tuned as we continue to expand our 400G capabilities and footprint.
On May 8, 2023, Windstream Wholesale proudly introduced the industry’s first Regional 400G, powered by ZR+ technology. Regional Rapid Fiber 400G expands beyond the point-to-point, coast-to-coast connectivity model, focusing on multi-point connections within a regional radius across ICON.
Our pre-deployed 400G capacity enables rapid turn-up within ~50 regional POPs with unique service flexibility, including technical proof of performance options, short-term, event-based 400G priced like long-term services, risk-free migration from 100G to 400G, capacity reservation service, and environmentally friendly power & thermal optimization.
Read more about going beyond the Next-Gen of 400G in our recent press release.
The greatest week in telecom has come and gone. ITW 2023 in National Harbor was a great success and we enjoyed meeting with many of our customers and partners. With 5,900+ in attendance, this show really has become the ‘superbowl’ of our industry.
We asked CRO, Joe Scattareggia, to name his Top 3 insights from ITW 2023. See how they compare to yours!
May 8, 2023
Introducing beyond-the-next-generation speed with the industry’s first Regional 400G, powered by ZR+ technology
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Windstream Wholesale, an optical technology leader in fast and flexible advanced solutions, is announcing another industry-leading achievement that goes beyond the next generation of 400G. Coined “Regional Rapid Fiber,” the group’s unique co-development of ZR+ pluggables is enabling the first flexible, regional 400G wave services and offering point-to-point connections within multiple regional sites across Windstream’s Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON).
Windstream Wholesale set the industry pace in August 2020, becoming the first to market 400G after successfully completing a 400G LR8 trial (with Everstream). Coverage expanded coast to coast across multiple routes in June 2022 and is now increasing from 80 400G points of presence (POPs) to over 120 400G POPs by year-end. This extensive, three-year, real-world service experience, combined with trusted engineering and technology expertise, led to an exclusive partnership with II-VI (now Coherent Corp) resulting in the co-development and industry-first launch of 400G powered by ZR+ coherent technology.
The Regional Rapid Fiber with ZR+ technology 400G wave service provides customers the freedom to add circuits for flexibility and redundancy, expanding beyond the point-to-point, coast-to-coast connectivity model and focusing on multi-point connections within a regional radius. Connectivity is accessible within approximately 50 regional POPs across Windstream’s ICON network affording customers the following:
The new Regional Rapid Fiber 400G wave service is slated for network deployment and customer turn-up in early summer 2023.
“We’ve been in the business of 400G for a while now and have had time to harden our processes and systems,” said Joe Scattareggia, chief revenue officer for Windstream Wholesale. “That amount of experience and gained expertise is really what sets us apart and is also what led to the partnership and co-development of the ZR+ technology. We’ve lowered connectivity risk for our customers who are seeking trusted, coast-to-coast expansion and upgrade to that next generation of 400G, introducing the first flexible regional 400G wave service (Regional Rapid Fiber) which we know is going to be a market disruptor, both in terms of connectivity and customer cost. We will have a big presence at the International Telecoms Week Conference, and our team is still scheduling meetings to talk about this exciting lead offering along with our new fiber builds and more.”
Windstream Wholesale sets the bar high in industry technical standards with an experienced approach to technology and engineering. Heavy investment in research and development has resulted in better quality products and services, lessening customer risk. The group’s Regional Rapid Fiber ZR+ 400G offering includes no-risk trials to ensure comfort for a customer’s engineering and network operations team by allowing the validation of service viability.
“The aligned goals and priorities of our Service Delivery and Transport Engineering teams enable industry breakthroughs like we’re seeing with 400G,” said Monther Hammoudeh, senior vice president of transport engineering and operations for Windstream. “From aggressive timelines to fast and flexible, custom solutions, we’re not just developing industry-leading technology and products, we’re laser-focused on delivering solutions that create a winning customer experience.”
“Windstream Wholesale was the first partner to deliver 400G wavelength services to us, and ultimately the reason we partner boils down to the people,” said Steven Schecter, senior director, network architecture, Akamai Technologies, Inc. “The technical teams at Windstream are industry-leading, employing the latest technologies at scale. The sales organization is not only hyper-responsive but deeply involved in understanding the needs of our business and providing tailored solutions.”
Windstream’s Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON) provides open and disaggregated networking infrastructure, enabling wholesale and enterprise technology customers to select unique custom routes, maintain operational insights with Windstream’s Network Intelligence functions, and place their networks closer to the edge to better serve end-users.
To view the Windstream network map, visit https://www.windstreamwholesale.com/ww-nationwide-network-map/.
About Windstream
Windstream Holdings is a privately held communications and software company. Windstream Wholesale is an innovative optical technology leader that creates deep partnerships with carriers, content and media providers, federal government agencies, and Fortune 100 companies to deliver fast and flexible, customized wave and transport solutions. Additional information is available at windstream.com or windstreamwholesale.com. Follow us on Twitter at @Windstream.
Category: Wholesale
Scott Morris, 501-748-5342
[email protected]
Source: Windstream Holdings
Join John Bonczek, CRO of 1547 Critical Systems Realty, and Windstream Wholesale CRO, Joe Scattareggia, as they discuss network expansion and the invaluable benefits of a partnership. John enlightens on the economical and geographical advantages of connection into the Orangeburg market, WW’s recent long haul network expansion into their 1 Ramland Rd. facility, and the rationale behind the two companies’ strategic connections, expansions, and investments.
March 27, 2023
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Windstream Wholesale, an optical technology leader of fast and flexible advanced solutions, and Bluewater Regional Networks have partnered to establish a unique, high-capacity route from Toronto to Chicago, meeting the growing need for fully diverse connectivity between data centers in the U.S. and Canada.
The new network path provides 10 GbE, 100 GbE and 400 GbE waves from Toronto to Sarnia, Ontario, and then on to Lapeer, Michigan, and Chicago. It features multiple access points throughout Ontario, Quebec and Michigan offering diversity to anywhere in the US.
Bluewater Regional Network, headquartered in Sarnia, operates a community-owned network established to address the local digital divide throughout Southwestern Ontario, with an emphasis on enhancing connectivity between Canada and the U.S. for multinational customers.
“We are proud to partner with Windstream Wholesale to make this diverse, high-capacity network route a reality,” said Chris Gould, chief operating officer for Bluewater Regional Networks. “Now companies around the world can connect from anywhere in Canada to anywhere in North America and beyond while avoiding some of the most heavily trafficked routes on the continent.”
“Joining forces with exceptional partners like Bluewater Regional Networks is a key part of Windstream Wholesale’s strategy to meet our customers’ increasing demand for high-capacity bandwidth and geographic network diversity that protects against service disruptions,” said Joe Scattareggia, chief revenue officer for Windstream Wholesale. “This unique network route from Toronto to Chicago is a perfect answer for the growing number of large-scale customers looking to connect data centers in the U.S. and Canada.”
The new route is part of Windstream’s ICON open and disaggregated networking infrastructure, which enables wholesale and enterprise technology customers to select unique custom routes, maintain operational insights with Windstream’s Network Intelligence functions, and place their networks closer to the edge to better serve end-users.
To view the Windstream network map, visit: https://www.windstreamwholesale.com/ww-nationwide-network-map/
About Windstream
Windstream Holdings is a privately held communications and software company. Windstream Wholesale is an innovative optical technology leader that creates deep partnerships with carriers, content and media providers, federal government agencies and Fortune 100 companies to deliver fast and flexible, customized wave and transport solutions. Additional information is available at windstream.com or windstreamwholesale.com. Follow us on Twitter at @Windstream.
Category: Wholesale
Windstream Contact:
Scott Morris, 501-748-5342
[email protected]Source: Windstream Holdings
On October 3, 2022, Windstream Wholesale proudly introduced our revolutionary customer portal – iconnect! Offering unique visibility into both wavelength and fiber performance, WW customers gain access to multi-layer network health data and self-service features which enable them to reveal more and manage confidently with network intelligence tools that serve as an extension of their network.
Shortly following this announcement, another Press Release made headlines on January 5, 2023, when Windstream Wholesale introduced KMZs on demand and providing customers with a self-service, full-fiber path view of their wavelength circuits using KMZ files through their iconnect customer portal.
The WW Team continues to work every day to enhance this unique portal and remain on the leading edge for our customers. Iconnect will continue to evolve as WW continues to push the industry forward as a technology leader!
“In what we believe is a first for the industry, Windstream Wholesale will provide customers with real-time access to multi-layer network intelligence and health data as well as a suite of self-service tools delivered through our intuitive iconnect user interface or via APIs. Taken together, these features will give customers a deep look into the moment-by-moment performance of our network.”
– Joe Scattareggia, CRO Windstream Wholesale
Windstream Wholesale is making waves as a construction company – expanding our network footprint to increase reach and diversity for our customers:
Explore our unique path routes under construction and diverse connectivity offerings in our new digital map booklet!
Windstream Wholesale has set an industry-leading real-world benchmark! Announced in the March 6, 2023 Press Release, a successful live network trial deploying a 1TB wave over 541km was achieved using digital coherent optics technology from partner Acacia, now part of Cisco. The ground-breaking trial marks the first use of pluggable modules in the High-Performance category!
“Our success here further validates Windstream Wholesale’s early adoption of the latest evolution advancements of coherent pluggables, and our strong partnership with Acacia enables us to understand and meet the rapidly evolving bandwidth needs of our customers.” – Art Nichols, Chief Technology Officer, Windstream.
It’s time for March Madness! From the Sweet 16 to the Final 4, there’s no denying the excitement of the NCAA Tournament.
We asked CRO, Joe Scattareggia, to name the Top 3 things he looks forward to during March Madness. As you carefully perfect your bracket and get ready for the big dance, see how they compare to yours!
March 6, 2023
Field trial demonstrates unprecedented performance of Acacia’s 1.2T CIM8 pluggable multi-haul module.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Windstream Wholesale, an optical technology leader of fast and flexible advanced solutions, today announced the completion of a live network trial that successfully deployed a 1 Terabit wave over 541 kilometers across Windstream’s Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON) network between Dallas and Tulsa. The trial set an industry-leading real-world benchmark using digital coherent optics technology by Acacia, now part of Cisco.
The team also looped the circuit to establish an 800 Gigabit link over a live network measuring 1,082 kilometers. As part of its core strategic pillars, Windstream Wholesale continues to push the industry forward with technologies that will help keep pace with customer bandwidth demands and lowering the cost per bit.
The trial employed Acacia’s Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8) module, which is powered by the Jannu DSP and is the industry’s first pluggable module in the “high-performance” category that represents the next evolution in driving high-capacity optical connections to expand the network.
“With this trial, Windstream Wholesale and Acacia have broken through the Terabit limit, once again demonstrating the power and benefit of an open, disaggregated network,” said Art Nichols, chief technology officer for Windstream. “Our success here further validates Windstream Wholesale’s early adoption of the latest evolution advancements of coherent pluggables, and our strong partnership with Acacia enables us to understand and meet the rapidly evolving bandwidth needs of our customers.”
The 1TB trial marked the first use of pluggable modules in the high-performance category. Acacia’s modules reduced power consumption by more than 65% while being more than 70% smaller than traditional network gear. In addition, the performance gains allow for a significant jump in route coverage of high line rates such as 800G and above.
“As Windstream Wholesale is demonstrating, our CIM 8 module is breaking the Terabit threshold with deployable performance on a real network,” said Benny Mikkelsen, chief technology officer at Acacia. “By leveraging silicon photonics, we’ve been able to achieve the power consumption needed to bring the CIM 8 into a pluggable form factor and that is going to help Windstream cost-effectively meet their customers’ growing bandwidth demands.”
Windstream previously set a 400 ZR+ record using Acacia pluggables. The company is continuing to expand the reach and capacity of its current 400G coast-to-coast wave service and more will be announced in the coming months.
“It’s great to see the industry fully embracing and advancing pluggable coherent modules, a strategic initiative driven by Windstream,” said Kim Papakos, principal optical strategist for Windstream Wholesale. “The technological advancements and learnings made in 400G ZR – QSFP-DD 0 dBm are now being applied to the High-Performance category leading to a substantial advancement, hitting all the key metrics of capacity, performance, power, size, and consumption model.”
Windstream’s ICON provides open and disaggregated networking infrastructure, enabling wholesale and enterprise technology customers to select unique custom routes, maintain operational insights with Windstream’s Network Intelligence functions, and place their networks closer to the edge to better serve end-users.
To view the Windstream network map, visit https://www.windstreamwholesale.com/ww-nationwide-network-map/
About Windstream
Windstream Holdings is a privately held communications and software company. Windstream Wholesale is an innovative optical technology leader that creates deep partnerships with carriers, content and media providers, federal government agencies and Fortune 100 companies to deliver fast and flexible, customized wave and transport solutions. Additional information is available at windstream.com or windstreamwholesale.com. Follow us on Twitter at @Windstream.
Category: Wholesale
Brandi Stafford, 501-748-6250
[email protected]
Source: Windstream Holdings