Alcatel and Fujitsu Land US$800 Million Contract for a Transpacific Network
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1998--Alcatel and Fujitsu have been awarded the supply contract for the US$800 million transpacific Southern Cross Cable Network, the largest and most direct cable link between Australasia and the United States.
The contract, signed in Wellington, New Zealand, was awarded by the sponsors of the network : Telecom New Zealand, Optus and WorldCom.
Alcatel will be responsible for the major part of the total contract and will be supplying undersea electronics, the cable, and all terminal equipment in the landing stations, including the SDH transmission network equipment and the end-to-end network management system, for the 29,000 km project.
The network will be the longest self-restoring fibre optic network to cross the Pacific and will connect the USA, Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. The first phase, linking Australia and New Zealand via Hawaii to the United States, will be completed by end 1999 with the second phase linking the US back to Australia via Hawaii and Fiji due for completion in the year 2000.
The dual cable system will use wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) and will give an initial minimum capacity of 40 Gbit/s on each fibre pair. At least three fibre pairs will be equipped making Southern Cross the largest capacity network in commercial operation when it starts carrying traffic.
Christian Reinaudo, president of Alcatel's submarine networks business said, "We are delighted that, once again, we shall be associated with supplying leading technological solutions to help meet the continuing growing demands for data transmission capacity. The first phase of Southern Cross will be the first implementation of an undersea system that has been designed from the outset to operate over 16 wavelengths and the whole network is scheduled for completion in time for the Sydney Olympics!"
A world leader in telecommunications systems and equipment, as well as related cables and components activities, Alcatel operates in over 130 countries. Alcatel provides complete solutions and services to operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers, ranging from backbone networks to user terminals. For more information, visit Alcatel on Internet : alcatel.com. |
