VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, Dec. 1 -- Canada's first seamless coast-to-coast fiber optic network has been opened by 360Networks, linking 13 Canadian cities over a 7000-mile network.
This national network offers the most bandwidth capacity ever available in Canada, said Ron Stevenson, vice-chairman of 360networks. It is a powerful, scalable network that can connect Canadians coast-to-coast faster and more efficiently, and change the way companies and individuals in Canada move data and other high-capacity information.
The network provides initial bandwidth capacity of 20 Gb/s with some segments of the network already offering a capacity of 60 Gb/s, the company said. The company reported customer orders and commitments across the country from a variety of service providers, including telecommunications and Internet service providers such as Big Pipe Inc. (a subsidiary of Shaw Communications) and Peer1.net (formerly known as Colo Brokers).
360networks' North American network spans 26,700 miles, of which 11,100 miles are currently lit and ready for commercial service. When completed, the network will link 50 major cities in the US and Canada, said 360 Networks.