Maziv subsidiary Dark Fibre Africa has quadrupled the capacity achieved in an earlier test, transmitting 1.6Tbit/s on a single wavelength over a 40km stretch of its core network between Isando and Midrand.

The company called the test transmission a “world first” for IP/optical convergence at that speed, though the claim could not immediately be independently verified.

The trial used Ciena’s new WaveRouter platform paired with WaveLogic 6 Extreme coherent optics. DFA previously demonstrated 400Gbit/s on the same route; the latest test, it said, shows a path to mixing 400Gbit/s, 800Gbit/s and 1.6Tbit/s services from one system as demand grows.

“This greatly enhances the capability of DFA’s existing network and gives us confidence we can meet rising digital demand,” said Maziv chief technology officer Andreas Uys in a statement.

Uys added that next-generation services will be launched in selected regions before scaling nationally.

The test follows phase 1 of an R800-million upgrade, which included new dry underground distribution cabinets in dense areas to accelerate provisioning. Systems integrator Willcom deployed the Ciena kit for DFA.

Ciena Europe, Middle East and Africa vice-president Virginie Hollebecque said the combination of the vendor’s optical and routing technologies positions DFA to aggregate traffic at 400Gbit/s today and scale to 1.6Tbit/s “and beyond”.