Windstream Wholesale and Infinera demonstrated 400GbE client-side services with commercially available ultra-efficient 400GbE-LR8 QSFP-DD compact pluggable interfaces.
The trial leveraged Infinera’s commercially available 2x 600G Wavelength muxponder on its Groove (GX) G30 Compact Modular Platform with the CHM-2T sled, which enabled the customer-facing 400GbE service to be transmitted using a single-carrier 600G wavelength.
Windstream Wholesale said it is currently engaging with customers for initial deployment of the end-to-end 400G Wave service.
“We’re excited to partner with Windstream and leverage the power and flexibility of our 600G Wavelength technology to deliver enhanced high-speed services,” said Glenn Laxdal, SVP, GM of Product Management, Infinera. “The ability to support 400GbE services with a wide-variety of client interfaces and to carry those services across metro, regional and long-haul distances enables Windstream to seamlessly support their customers’ evolving connectivity needs.”
Infinera announced the expansion of its Groove (GX) Series of open, compact, and modular transport solutions with the adoption of a sled-based architecture and support for its sixth-generation Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE6) technology. The platform's evolution includes carrier-grade features, high-density chassis, and a wide variety of advanced sled capabilities.

“These advances represent the continuation of Infinera’s vision to bring open, modular, cost-effective solutions to our customers,” said Glenn Laxdal, Infinera Senior Vice President, Product Management. “Infinera pioneered the compact modular transport platform with the Cloud Xpress for internet content providers, significantly advanced its compact modular portfolio with the industry’s first sled-based architecture with the GX G30, and is now leading the market once again with this evolution of the GX Series.”
The expanded GX Series of compact modular solutions adds improved scalability and carrier-grade features to modern data center-style networking approaches with chassis options that streamline and accelerate large-scale deployments in a wide variety of data center and traditional service provider networks. These features include NEBS Level 3 compliance, field-replaceable redundant controllers, both A/C and D/C power supplies, enhanced security, 300-millimeter (mm) and 600-mm ETSI-compliant shelf variants, and multi-chassis single-element configurations. Additionally, the expansion adds a variety of new sled-based options:
The ICE6-powered CHM6 sled – an industry-leading 2 x 800G transponder sled
Flexible aggregation sleds – a suite of metro-optimized sleds for multi-service aggregation
Advanced open line system sleds – including low- and high-degree ROADMs with colorless/directionless/contentionless add/drop architectures and low-cost FOADMs, enabling support for most networks