Infinera and NEC to Modernize Neutral Networks’ Mexico to United States Fiber Optic Network with Industry-leading ICE6 800G Solution

SAN JOSE, Calif. and MEXICO CITY and TOKYO, June 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) and NEC Corporation (NEC: TSE: 6701) announced today that Neutral Networks deployed Infinera’s ICE6 technology for its new transnational neutral fiber optic network NEXT. The companies worked closely together to design the largest optical network modernization between Mexico and the United States, making it the largest project of its kind in the region within the last 20 years. With Infinera’s ICE6 800G coherent technology, Neutral Networks’ NEXT network will provide high-capacity services and pave the way for future growth in the region.

Neutral Networks provides connectivity to carriers, data centers, and enterprise customers on its existing 175-mile network. With NEXT, Neutral Networks will establish a neutral, diverse, 100% underground and ultra-low latency fiber network to connect the City of Laredo in the United States with the City of Monterrey in Mexico. Leveraging Infinera’s ICE6 technology on the GX Series Compact Modular Platform, NEXT increases the capacity of the international network to meet the rapidly growing bandwidth demands in the region. The network will aggregate and transport 10G and 100G Ethernet services onto high-speed wavelengths across more than 175 miles from Mexico to the United States without regeneration.

Infinera’s ICE6 is easy to deploy and provides the greatest capacity at the greatest reach, resulting in seamless services, lower costs and power per bit, and enables Neutral Networks to provide more services per fiber. NEC provided end-to-end integration services, underpinned by over 20 years of experience in the optical domain, and comprehensive knowledge of the solutions being offered. This is in addition to being recognized by Infinera as “Global Partner of the Year” for three consecutive years.

“Our goal is for Mexico to have a modern, world-class network infrastructure which is why we found Infinera’s innovative ICE6 solution and NEC’s local engineering capabilities a reliable and ideal fit to ensure a seamless implementation at a scale of this kind,” said Noé Garza, CTO at Neutral Networks. “Our NEXT network is revolutionizing the telecoms industry in Mexico, contributing to its growth and providing the most advanced border-crossing network available with Laredo, Texas serving as a key access point to Mexico’s international clients.”

“We are delighted to collaborate with NEC to design and build NEXT, Neutral Networks’ next generation network, which will be a critical foundation for internet traffic between the U.S. and Mexico,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Infinera. “This is one of the most important telecom investment projects in the Northeast part of Mexico in recent history, and we are proud to have Infinera’s industry-leading ICE6 technology part of this transnational upgrade. ICE6 is deployed worldwide, and this deployment continues to demonstrate the solution’s scalable and flexible services to meet growing bandwidth demands.”

“We are pleased to have joined forces with Infinera to deliver transformational solutions for Neutral Networks’ massive transnational backbone,” said Hideyuki Ogata, General Manager of the Service Provider Solutions Department at NEC Corporation. “Capitalizing on our regional reach and optical network competence based out of our 5G Transport Network Center of Excellence (CoE) in LATAM, NEC will continue implementing and operationalizing bespoke networks in the region with state-of-the-art solutions that meet diversified customer needs.”

Contacts:

Neutral Networks Media:
Mariceni Allende
mariceni@etcmexico.com
Tel: +52 55 6866 8806

Infinera Media:
Anna Vue
Tel. +1 (916) 595-8157
avue@infinera.com 

Infinera Investors:
Amitabh Passi
Tel. +1 (669) 295-1489
apassi@infinera.com

NEC Media:
Joseph Jasper
j-jasper@nec.com

About NEUTRAL NETWORKS
Neutral Networks is a Mexican company focused in providing 100% neutral connectivity to carriers, service providers and operators. It offers turnkey infrastructure services for the telecommunications market, including leasing of dark fiber, lit fiber, internet, and long-haul solutions. Its mission is to close the great gap that exists between infrastructure and consumer demand, to help our country become one of the best-connected countries in the world. Neutral Networks is part of Southern Cross Group, one of the largest private equity funds in the region. Learn more at https://www.neutralnetworks.mx

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

About Infinera
Infinera is a global supplier of innovative open optical networking solutions that enable carriers, cloud operators, governments, and enterprises to scale network bandwidth, accelerate service innovation, and automate network operations. Infinera solutions deliver industry-leading economics and performance in long-haul, submarine, data center interconnect, and metro transport applications. To learn more about Infinera, visit www.infinera.com, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and subscribe for updates.

Infinera and the Infinera logo are registered trademarks of Infinera Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the technical, financial, and operational benefits of Infinera’s ICE6 technology. These statements are not guarantees of results and should not be considered as an indication of future activity or future performance. Actual results may vary materially from these expectations as a result of various risks and uncertainties. Information about these risks and uncertainties, and other risks and uncertainties that affect Infinera’s business, is contained in the risk factors section and other sections of Infinera’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter ended March 26, 2022 as filed with the SEC on May 3, 2022, as well as any subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC. These reports are available on Infinera’s website at www.infinera.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies and can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or similar words. Infinera assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements.