Illwerke vkw to deploy business optical transport solution across Austria

Faced with rapidly growing capacity demand, Austrian energy service provider illwerke vkw has tapped Nokia to evolve its existing network to a modern infrastructure based on dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) and high-performance photonic service engine (PSE) technology capable of increasing network scale, optimising performance and ensuring sustainable growth.

The leading energy service, power utility and telecoms service provider in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, illwerke vkw generates its power exclusively from renewable sources. It supplies energy to around 200,000 customers and offers telecoms services to mobile network providers (MNOs). The new deployment, which is expected to be completed by late 2024, is intended to provide illwerke vkw with a new, resilient, modernised optical network capable of supporting 400G wavelengths and beyond for business customers.

Featuring Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS), the new optical network will span 15 sites in Vorarlberg providing 10G, 25G and 100G mobile backhaul and fronthaul transport services to connect MNO cell sites and central offices. Illwerke vkw AG will also provide optical transport services for other business customers in the region.

Commenting on the deployment, illwerke vkw head of IT Christoph Märk said: “We are excited to work with Nokia to evolve our existing network infrastructure. The new optical network will enable us to meet the growing capacity demands and provide high-quality telecoms services to mobile service providers and business customers in Vorarlberg.”

Matthieu Bourguignon, senior vice-president and head of Europe for network infrastructure business at Nokia, added: “As a premier energy service provider in Austria, illwerke vkw AG stands out by harnessing renewable energy and extending its network and expertise to offer telecommunications services to mobile network operators.

“Like its global counterparts in the energy and telecoms sectors, our customer is facing unrelenting demand for capacity which requires significant network modernisation. Nokia will provide a resilient and superior optical transport network capable of supporting 400G wavelengths and beyond, which will serve the present and future requirements of illwerke vkw AG’s customers.”

Nokia is confident the new network will allow illwerke vkw to manage wavelengths at the photonic layer efficiently. It will include optical channel protection to enhance resiliency of services and support for all fronthaul protocols, making the network ready to support multi-generation radios (3G/4G/5G). This includes support of high-performance synchronisation distribution (frequency/time/phase) meeting strict (ITU-T G.8273.2 Class B and C) timing requirements for backhaul and fronthaul services as enabled through the 1830 PSS and 1830 Time-sensitive Packet Switch (TPS), respectively.

The new optical network also employs the Nokia WaveSuite Network Operations Centre (WS-NOC), providing unified end-to-end optical management and support functions including service provisioning and service assurance.