Packet-optical network vendor Transmode announced recently that it has signed a new eight-year contract with Virgin Media Business for Ethernet-based mobile backhaul service delivery networks across the United Kingdom.

Transmode said that the new contract was worth up to 150 million Swedish kronor ($23.2 million) in 2011 and 2012, and deliveries will start in the third quarter of this year.

The deployment of Transmode’s optical networking gear will start with connecting 14 regional aggregation networks that connect a number of base stations with fiber-based synchronous Gigabit Ethernet services. The deployment will enable Virgin Media Business to offer Sync-E-enabled mobile backhaul services to mobile operators all over the U.K.

“The explosion of mobile data traffic due to the use of smartphones and other similar devices is driving the networks of mobile operators to breaking point. Working with Transmode, we’re looking to transform backhaul networks by delivering a unique service that deploys fiber-based Ethernet services to cell sites. We’re best placed to deliver the speed and capacity that mobile companies need,” said Mark Heraghty, managing director of Virgin Media Business. “With a fiber-based core network, we’ve got big ambitions for this market and see it as integral to the growth of our overall market share. Our partnership with Transmode makes our proposition all the more compelling.

“As consumers demand access to more and more data on the move, the volume of traffic crossing mobile operators’ networks is set to rocket. Working hand in hand with Transmode gives us the technical edge to ensure that any amount of data is never too much for the mobile operators to handle.”

The dedicated networks will support mobile backhaul services to U.K. mobile operators and will rely on Transmode’s Native Packet Optical architecture, including the recently launched Layer 2 Ethernet Muxponder family. Ethernet services will be provided from the mobile operators’ core node locations right through to the operators’ cell sites. Transmode said it would enable Virgin Media Business to provide highly flexible services with better synchronization performance than alternative solutions in the market.

Virgin Media Business’ fiber-optic network currently carries 35 percent of all business broadband traffic and can connect to 85 percent of the businesses in the U.K.