FLAG, formerly known as Global Cloud Xchange (GCX), is expanding its subsea capacity across the India Connectivity Mesh using Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) technology. The upgrade spans the Chennai–Singapore and Mumbai–Singapore routes, delivering higher throughput and future-ready capability for 400GbE and 800GbE client services.
The deployment of Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme solution, powered by WL6e, is designed to enhance FLAG’s ability to meet India’s surging international bandwidth demands driven by artificial intelligence, cloud, and hyperscale data center interconnectivity. FLAG expects the new system to cut space and power requirements per bit by half while achieving major gains in spectral efficiency—boosting both capacity and sustainability across its east- and west-bound subsea corridors.
Ciena said the upgrade enables FLAG to extend the life of its existing cable assets while keeping pace with exponential traffic growth. The India Connectivity Mesh links India to Southeast Asia via Singapore and westward toward Europe through the Middle East, reinforcing the country’s role as a digital exchange hub across the Indo-Pacific region.
• FLAG is using Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) to upgrade two key India–Singapore routes
• The network will initially support 400GbE client services, with 800GbE capability planned
• WL6e offers up to 50% reduction in space and power per bit versus previous systems
• Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme enables faster, more flexible capacity upgrades
• FLAG operates over 80,000 km (≈49,700 miles) of subsea and terrestrial cables worldwide
“Our ability to deliver high-capacity connectivity that can support artificial intelligence applications and cloud services is key, and we are meeting this requirement with Ciena’s latest WaveLogic technology,” said Brad Kneller, Chief Network Officer, FLAG.
🌐 Analysis: FLAG’s WL6e deployment marks another milestone in the rapid modernization of India’s international subsea gateways. Ciena’s sixth-generation coherent optics are becoming the preferred upgrade path for cable operators seeking sustainable capacity expansion. Competing projects across Asia, including systems by Reliance Jio and Airtel-Nxtra, are similarly targeting 400G and 800G performance to support India’s data center growth and emerging AI workloads.
