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Africa ONE to Build Fiber Optic Ring Around Africa
* 39,000 kilometer, $1.6 billion fiber optic cable system to be completed
in 2002.
* Lucent Technologies named preferred equipment and software supplier;
will provide technical support and project resources.
* Global Crossing and its subsidiaries awarded contracts expected to
exceed $100 million; will provide project management and marine
operations.
NEW YORK; HAMILTON, Bermuda; and MURRAY HILL, N.J., June 4 /PRNewswire/ --
Africa ONE, a major independent telecommunication network that will link the
countries of Africa to one another and to growing global broadband
telecommunication networks, was announced today by S. G. Fassoulis, chairman,
Africa ONE, Ltd.
Africa ONE, Ltd., owned by Columbia Technologies of New Jersey and
organized under the laws of Liberia with agency operations in New York City,
will develop and own the state-of-the-art undersea fiber optic system. Lucent
Technologies has been selected as the preferred equipment and software
supplier for the network. Lucent will provide technical support and project
resources. This arrangement has a potential value of up to $250 million to
Lucent, subject to the execution of a definitive contract by the parties.
Subsidiaries of Global Crossing Ltd. (Nasdaq: GBLX) will be awarded
contracts valued in excess of $100 million to provide project management and
undersea construction.
"The system will fully integrate the African continent into the global
broadband telecommunications network," said Fassoulis. "Africa ONE will
provide state-of-the-art connectivity for the entire African continent, at low
cost and with unparalleled reliability."
Africa ONE will form a self-healing ring around the continent of Africa
and will connect more than two dozen coastal-country landing points.
Countries without landing points, including interior countries, will use
terrestrial fiber, microwave, or satellite facilities to connect to Africa
ONE. It is a $1.6 billion project with an anticipated completion date of
2002.
Lucent expects to supply its WaveStar(TM) OLS 80G, a Dense Wave Division
Multiplexing (DWDM) system transmitting up to 40 gigabits of information per
second, and approximately 39,000 kilometers of its TrueWave(R) undersea fiber
optic cable.
"The telecommunications sector in Africa is developing rapidly, and demand
for broadband connectivity with the countries of Africa is fueling that
development," Mr. Fassoulis said today. "Deregulation, privatization,
competition and regulatory reform throughout Africa are creating a robust
telecommunications environment, and demand for new services, especially the
Internet, is growing tremendously. Africa ONE will save hundreds of millions
of dollars in transit fees now being paid by African carriers to complete
calls via Europe."
"The system will facilitate trade and investment in Africa, and be the
engine that drives the African Renaissance for the new Millennium for the
entire continent," said Joseph C. Ceva, President of Africa ONE, Ltd.
"Africa ONE, Ltd. is delighted to have the support of two truly world-class
companies, Lucent Technologies and Global Crossing, Ltd. Together these
companies represent expertise and experience in undersea fiber optic cable
technologies unequaled in the world today."
Lucent will provide technical support and resources for the overall design
and configuration of the system.
"Africa ONE is an exciting project in a market that is ready to grow
dramatically," said Harry Bosco, chief operating officer of Lucent's Optical
Networking Group. "This is a great example of how Lucent's optical networking
products are changing the way the world thinks about communications. We're
pleased to be working with Africa ONE and Global Crossing to bring a new level
of service to this continent."
The contract is expected to provide more than $100 million in revenue for
Global Crossing for the provision of marine operations and to act as project
manager, overseeing construction, installation, and implementation of the
system. The new marine fleet that Global Crossing will purchase from Cable &
Wireless, in a deal expected to close this month, will handle marine
operations for the Africa ONE project.
Global Crossing subsidiaries will be paid in cash and/or in capacity on
the Africa ONE system, at the option of Global Crossing. Although neither an
investor nor an owner of Africa ONE, Global Crossing will integrate the
capacity it receives from the system into the Global Crossing Network. The
link-up will provide end-to-end connectivity for the African continent to 19
countries and 185 cities around the world.
"Global Crossing will be working closely with Lucent on Africa ONE to
build an infrastructure project of vital importance to the African continent,
with state-of-the-art advanced technology and world-scale capacity," said
William B. Carter, President of Global Crossing Development Co. "The Africa
ONE system will be transformational in the lives of the people of Africa that
it serves."
About Africa ONE
The concept of Africa ONE was first proposed in 1993. At a meeting of
Directors-General of African telecommunications carriers held in February 1999
in Djerba, Tunisia, under the auspices of the International Telecommunications
Union, African support for the resumption of Africa ONE as a private cable
was confirmed. Thirty African countries have formally indicated their
interest in participating in the project.
About Lucent
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds
and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communication
systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and
microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and
development arm for the company.
About Global Crossing
Global Crossing is the world's premier provider of global broadband
capacity. It is building and operating the world's most advanced global
IP-based fiber optic platform, connecting five continents for data, voice,
video and Internet transmissions. Global Crossing's operations are
headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, with offices in Los Angeles; New York
City; Morristown, New Jersey; San Francisco; Miami; London; Amsterdam; and
Buenos Aires.
Statements made in this press release that state the company's or
management's intentions, beliefs, expectations, or predictions for the future
are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the company's
actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-
looking statements. Information concerning factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is
contained from time to time in the company's filings with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of these filings may be obtained by
contacting the company or the SEC.
CONTACT: Investors/press: Patricia Bagnell of Africa ONE, 781-455-8603;
Press: Mary Ward of Lucent Technologies, 908-582-7658, maryward@lucent.com;
Investor/analysts: Jensen Chow, 310-385-5283, jchow@globalcrossing.com, or
Press: Tom Goff, 310-385-5231, tgoff@globalcrossing.com, both of Global
Crossing
SOURCE Africa ONE
Web Site: globalcrossing.com
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