Alcatel Is Awarded $45 Million Terrestrial and Undersea
Optics Contract to Upgrade the Sea-Me-We 3 Cable Network
with 10 Gbit/s DWDM
Alcatel to implement 40,000 km optical network connecting Europe to Asia
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2002--Alcatel (NYSE:ALA - news)-- Alcatel (NYSE: ALA
- news), the world leader in optical networking, has been awarded a $45 million contract by the
Sea-Me-We 3 consortium to upgrade the network to support 10 Gbit/s transmission, representing a
40 percent capacity increase.
Alcatel is the sole provider for the terrestrial portion of the project, including Dense Wavelength
Division Multiplexing (DWDM) systems and end-to-end network management. Alcatel will also
supply the major part of the undersea optical networking infrastructure. The installation and
commissioning of the 10 Gbit/s upgrade will be completed and operational by February 2003.
The upgrade will be performed on seven out of the ten Sea-Me-We 3 segments and in the landing
stations of more than nine countries--from Portugal to Hong-Kong. The upgrade will allow these
countries to benefit from a cost effective, high capacity bandwidth network for Internet and
multimedia traffic and for data and traditional telecommunications services.
Sea-Me-We 3 is the world's longest intercontinental network connecting Northern Europe to East
Asia and Australia, spanning approximately 40,000 km. Initially designed to support 2.5 Gbit/s
WDM transmission, two wavelengths out of eight, on a single optical fiber pair, will be upgraded to
10 Gbit/s. The upgrade uses an original and cost-effective solution based on advanced 10 Gbit/s
technology mastered by Alcatel in undersea transmission.
The terrestrial portion of the contract entails the implementation of advanced optical networking
products, including synchronous digital hierarchy Optical Multi-Service Node systems at 10 Gbit/s,
long-haul DWDM systems at 10 Gibt/s, and digital cross-connects.
The upgraded system will be managed by Alcatel's integrated, user-friendly network management
platform, providing end-to-end supervision and provisioning.
``We are very pleased with the integrated end-to-end solution provided by Alcatel as leading
supplier,'' said Alain-Paul Leclerc, Procurement Group chairman, Sea-Me-We 3. ``Taking into
account the complex configuration of Sea-Me-We 3 - connecting more than 30 countries, across
continents and under oceans, they offer a terrestrial and submarine approach with a cost-effective
common system management platform, great flexibility and seamless technology. This upgrade will
allow Sea-Me-We 3 to continue its prosperous expansion with higher bit rate and world-class level
of services.''
``We are the only vendor able to provide our customers with such a turnkey optical networking
solution encompassing terrestrial, submarine and integrated network management systems,'' said
Christian Reinaudo, president of Alcatel's optics activities. ``We can thus provide our customers
with unique advantages in terms of technological synergies, network traffic optimization and cost
of network ownership.''
Alcatel has been the major supplier for the construction of the undersea line terminal equipment
and the submerged part (cable, repeaters, branching units) of the network since 1997.
About Sea Me We 3
Launched in 1997, Sea-Me-We 3 connects Far East Asia; South East Asia; Australia; South Asia; Middle East; and Southern,
Western and Northern Europe. It crosses the seven seas, spanning approximately 40,000 km. The network has been in service for
three years, connecting 92 telecommunications carriers along the route, such as France Telecom, Deutsche Telecom AG, Telecom
Italia, OTE, Etisalat, China Telecom, SingTel, BT, KDD, Telecom Egypt, and Saudi Telecom. It remains the most complex network
architecture of any undersea system in the world, with traffic connections between 39 landing points along the route.
About Alcatel
Alcatel designs, develops and builds innovative and competitive communications networks, enabling carriers, service providers and
enterprises to deliver any type of content, such as voice, data and multimedia, to any type of consumer, anywhere in the world.
Relying on its leading and comprehensive products and solutions portfolio, stretching from end-to-end optical infrastructures, fixed
and mobile networks to broadband access, Alcatel's customers can focus on optimizing their service offerings and revenue streams.
With sales of Euro 25 billion in 2001 and 99,000 employees, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information,
www.alcatel.com
Contact:
Alcatel
Press Contact:
Jamie Horton, 707/792-7843
Jamie.horton@alcatel.com
Industry Analyst Relations:
Julie Buckley, 707/792-7820
Julie.buckley@alcatel.com
Investor Relations:
Peter Campbell, 972/519-4347
Peter.campbell@alcatel.com |
