[Metromedia Fiber Network Becomes First to Deploy AllWave(TM) Fiber For Intracity Networks in the U.S. and Europe]
NEW YORK, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. today announced its plans to deploy Lucent Technologies' AllWave Fiber for its intra-city fiber network routes in both the U.S. and Europe.
The $40 million agreement, part of a larger contract signed earlier in the year, marks the first installation of AllWave Fiber for Metromedia Fiber Network, adding innovative new capabilities to MFN's metropolitan networks.
AllWave Fiber, the industry's first fiber designed specifically for metropolitan applications, provides 60 percent more usable wavelengths than today's conventional single-mode fiber. By using a break-through ultra-purifying process from its Bell Laboratories, Lucent has been able to virtually eliminate water molecules in the glass fiber that had made some light regions in the fiber spectrum previously unusable.
"Metromedia Fiber Network is future-proofing its metropolitan network routes to meet the increased bandwidth demands of our customers by installing high-capacity optical pipelines directly to buildings and carrier points of presence on an unmetered, fixed cost basis," said Howard Finkelstein, president of Metromedia Fiber Network. "Lucent's AllWave Fiber helps us take the next step in our strategy to provide our customers with the most advanced networks available to meet their intensive broadband requirements."
The contract with Lucent is part of Metromedia Fiber Network's strategy to expand its fiber network to additional markets in North America and Europe to meet the growing bandwidth needs of telecommunication service providers, Internet Service Providers, governments and businesses. The network, currently planned for more than 1 million fiber miles in North America and Europe, will cover more than a dozen cities.
"AllWave Fiber opens a new window in the fiber spectrum to provide Metromedia Fiber Network with more wavelengths and additional bandwidth in its metropolitan routes," said Denys Gounot, chief operating officer for Lucent's cable systems business. "Together, we are stretching the limits of fiber capacity to unheard-of levels in the local network to provide MFN's customers with the ability to cost-effectively deliver new, high-speed service and data capabilities to end customers."
Earlier this year, the two companies announced a $100 million contract to install Lucent's industry-leading TrueWave(R) RS Fiber throughout MFN's networks in the U.S. and Europe. The network construction in Europe served as Lucent's first installation of fiber ribbon technology on the continent, making, Metromedia Fiber Network the first provider to be able to place up to 864 TrueWave fibers in a one-inch cable metallic sheath -- dramatically reducing the installed cost, per fiber mile, of conventional fiber networks. This allows Metromedia Fiber Network to deliver virtually unlimited bandwidth at a fixed cost to its customer base. |
