MTN, Africa's largest telecommunications operator and Huawei today announced the successful live trial of a Transport Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and 2.4Tbit/s wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system. This trial is currently the fastest and most intelligent optical network to date in the industry, setting the standard for the evolution of optical transport.

The ultra-fast single-channel 2.4 Tbit/s field trial took place on MTN's national fibre backbone network in South Africa. In the first scenario, 2.4 Tbit/s with 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) was achieved over a transmission distance exceeding 300 km. In the second scenario, 2 Tbit/s with QPSK was achieved over a transmission distance of 1031 km. The success of this trial demonstrates the advanced optical transport system with bandwidth capacities far beyond the existing 100G technology.

In addition to the large system capacity, the "world's first" transport SDN new features were also tested. Huawei Transport SDN solutions, using physical network modeling and resource abstraction, have realized transmission pipe virtualization. These advances allow traditional communication technology networks to be "IT-like". This trial successfully demonstrated SDN features such as Bandwidth on Demand (BoD), Virtual Transport Service (VTS) and Automatic O&M functions.

Mr.Navi Naidoo, Group Technology Officer, MTN, said: "With this successful field trial, we have demonstrated our commitment to digital innovation. MTN continues to invest in future-proof transport networks to realize world class technologies, not only to our existing markets, but to extend our technology offerings globally. We believe that networks such as cloud computing, streaming media and mobile broadband must be scalable, intelligent and flexible. To this end, Huawei's next generation optical evolution concept 'SDN-based flex optical network' properly fits our requirements."

Mr. Zha Jun, President of Huawei's Fixed Network Business Unit, said, "Huawei will maintain cooperation and joint innovation with MTN, and continue to promote the commercialization process of SDN and ultra-high speed optical transmission technology, in order to jointly meet the challenges of a digital future. "

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ABOUT MTN GROUP LIMITED

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code "MTN". As of 30 June 2014, MTN recorded 215 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia.

Visit us online: www.mtn.com

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Contact us: mtngrouppressoffice@mtn.co.za

About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Through the dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, Huawei has established end-to-end advantages in telecom networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei is committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive solutions and services. Its products and solutions have been deployed in over 170 countries, serving more than one third of the world's population.

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