Lucent Technologies to be Preferred Supplier to Project OXYGENT Global Undersea Network; Contract Estimated at $1 Billion
May 20, 1998
MURRAY HILL, N.J. -- In a move to bring cost-effective, advanced communications
services to people around the world, CTR Group, Ltd., announced today that
Lucent Technologies will be the exclusive provider of land-based optical
networking equipment, service and network management software, power systems,
interconnect equipment, and professional services for CTR's future, global
undersea cable network called Project OXYGEN. This four-year agreement is
estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.
CTR Group, based in New Jersey, created and launched Project OXYGEN.
CTR's network will span every continent except Antarctica. Its first phase will
consist of up to 158,000 kilometers (km) of fiber-optic cable with 101 cable
landing points touching up to 74 countries and locations. The OXYGEN Network
will have a minimum throughput of 640 Gigabits per second (Gb/s) over long-haul
submarine routes and carry at least 16 wavelengths, or channels, of information
per fiber. On terrestrial and shorter undersea segments, the network will
transport up to 1.92 Terabits (trillion bits) per second, the equivalent of
sending nearly 25 million simultaneous phone calls over a cable.
Lucent's equipment and software will enable CTR to meet its goal of delivering
bandwidth that's up to 100 times cheaper than other fiber connections, and
efficiently manage network traffic to meet the explosive demand for Internet,
voice and video services -- projected to be a $1 trillion-a-year global market
by 2000.
"As the demand for Internet and other high-capacity communications services
continues to skyrocket, we are launching Project OXYGEN to rapidly deliver
affordable bandwidth to every corner of the globe," said Neil Tagare, chairman
and CEO of CTR Group. "We selected Lucent Technologies because it continuously
delivers optical networking breakthroughs that will help Project OXYGEN realize
its goal of universally available bandwidth."
"We are pleased to play a key role in building Project OXYGEN, a network that
will nearly double the mileage of today's undersea fiber-optic cable," said Nina
Aversano, president of Lucent's Global Commercial Markets business. "In
launching one of the most ambitious fiber-optic projects of our time, CTR Group
requires a vendor like Lucent, which has delivered more optical networking
systems around the globe than any other supplier and has a proven track record
for building and maintaining large networks."
Under the agreement, Lucent will provide its:
ú WaveStarT BandWidth Manager, a revolutionary, network bandwidth management
system that will single-handedly route all the traffic - voice, ATM, Internet
protocol, and video - in the Project OXYGEN network.
ú WaveStar Optical Line System (OLS) 400G, that will deliver capacity to the
Project OXYGEN network by providing up to 80 high-capacity wavelengths, or
channels of information, over a single fiber strand.
ú Integrated Transport Management (ITM) and ACTIVIEWr Service Management
software that enables CTR Group to efficiently manage its entire network and the
services it provides to customers. Lucent's software has a proven track record
in other large undersea cable networks.
ú GALAXY Power Systems and Cabinet Power Systems that will deliver reliable
power to all electronic equipment in Project OXYGEN's terminal points and
terrestrial repeaters.
ú Fiber-optic infrastructure including Lucent's LGXr (Lightguide Cross Connect)
Fiber Optic Distribution System, interconnecting fiber cables, jumpers and
closures, which connect the switching systems to the transmission equipment.
In addition, Lucent also will provide professional services to engineer and
install the global network.
"While the demand for bandwidth is on the rise, Lucent is stretching the limits
of fiber capacity to unheard-of levels that networks like Project OXYGEN can
take full advantage of," said Gerry Butters, president of Lucent's Optical
Networking Group. "With optical networking systems that deliver triple-Terabit
capacity and a means of managing it all more efficiently, Lucent will enable CTR
Group to drive capacity toward infinity while driving the cost of transporting a
bit close to zero."
As part of the WaveStar BandWidth Manager, CTR Group will deploy Lucent's
next-generation SONET/SDH transport systems that handles both 2.5 and 10 Gb/s
signal rates to carry a variety of incoming traffic. Project OXYGEN also will
take advantage of Lucent's patent-pending SONET/SDH ring protection capability
for very long-distance undersea applications. Also part of the BandWidth
Manager, this feature ensures cost-effective service reliability in the event of
a trans-oceanic fiber cut.
Lucent expects to begin delivery of its equipment and software to Project OXYGEN
by early 1999.
The first phase of the network, valued at $8 billion, will be built in four
parts. CTR plans to complete major trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes, as
well as a terrestrial link across North America, in late 2000. Phase 1 of the
OXYGEN network will be completed in 2002, with additional links including
Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Middle East, India, both coasts of South
America, Australia, and Central America. Of the 158,000 km of cable making up
the first phase of Project OXYGEN, approximately 8,000 km will be on terrestrial
routes, with the rest undersea.
CTR Group is a Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based company specializing in building
global infrastructure for the Super-Internet of the future. CTR was founded by
Neil Tagare, who played a key role in the development of FLAG (Fiberoptic Link
Around the Globe), a 28,000-km undersea cable running from Japan to the United
Kingdom. More information on Project OXYGEN is available at
oxygen.org.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and
delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and
software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and
microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development
arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit the
company's web site at lucent.com.
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