Openreach Offer Optical UK Data Links at Speeds of 1.6 Terabits Per Second

Network operator Openreach has this week launched a new enhancement to their Optical Spectrum Extended Access (OSEA) portfolio, which will enable UK data centres and telecoms operators to deploy higher-capacity connectivity between sites with support for multiple wavelengths each carrying up to 1.6Tbps (Terabits per second) of capacity.

At present Openreach are known to use Ciena’s WaveServer and WaveLogic optical technology to power its high-capacity OSEA solutions for major business connectivity, which can offer data speeds of up to 800Gbps per card over a single optical wavelength. But as demand for multi-400G and 800G connectivity between data centres and other high-capacity locations continues to grow, new solutions are required.

Openreach has thus introduced a new OSEA WaveServer option that can support multiple wavelengths each carrying up to 1.6Tb of capacity, using a fairly compact 2RU platform (i.e. a 2-Rack Unit hardware chassis that takes up 88.9mm of vertical space in a standard rack). This is said to be designed to house up to four WaveServer modules and supports up to eight 1.6Tb wavelengths.

Put another way, that’s potentially 12.8Tbps of aggregate wavelength capacity per chassis or up to 32 × 400GE client interfaces. The sort of capacity links that major data centres and network operators are likely to need as demand grows. Openreach has begun taking pre-order designs and quotes for this, although proper orders can be made from 16th September 2026. Further details here and pricing here.

Just for some context on how much this sort of connectivity costs. Openreach says the connection charge for a 1.6Tbps Wavelength is £16,500 +vat and annual rental of £2,700 (across either a 36 or 60-month term). The prices only go up from there, but don’t judge this by the standards of consumer of regular business connectivity as we’re talking about an entirely different category of product.