Marconi Opens Telecom Italia Rome - Bologna Optical Link; Link Showcases Marconi's SmartPhotoniX Line of Optical Solutions
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2000 8:01:00 AM EST
PITTSBURGH, Aug 3, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- A milestone Telecom Italia communication link between Rome, Florence and Bologna has gone into service incorporating the latest Marconi SmartPhotoniX DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology. This is Telecom Italia's first use of DWDM in its network and is part of a national backbone infrastructure contract won by Marconi in October 1999.
The link will provide additional bandwidth to support emerging multimedia and broadband access services. Additional capacity also will be sold to alternative operators who use Telecom Italia as an interconnection service.
"We chose Marconi for its experience and its understanding of our needs," said Sandro Dionisi, responsible for network engineering and the development of transmission services for Telecom Italia. "In particular, the good performance and features of Marconi's SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) equipment is proven around the world and Marconi's SmartPhotoniX optical systems are well supported by Marconi's consulting and development resources."
The DWDM network's first stage links Rome, Florence and Bologna with twelve wavelengths, each wavelength supporting 2.5 Gbit/s capacity and scalable to 10 Gbit/s. This initial backbone segment has been the reference point for testing Marconi's DWDM equipment, prior to rolling out the rest of the national optical network during 2000 and 2001. The DWDM backbone will provide long-haul capacity for numerous standards-based SDH fiber rings -- supported by Marconi equipment -- that are along the route.
Point-to-point physical links will support a "logical" SDH ring topology, with SDH traffic transported by the higher DWDM layer. The optical backbone will deliver all the benefits of SDH, including the MS-SPRING protection mechanism. Defined by international standards, MS-SPRING ensures that any physical break in a connection will not affect service -- traffic is automatically and immediately re-routed around the ring. The project includes a series of submarine links connecting various coastal sites with SDH over DWDM. This delivers far higher capacity than before and delivers the benefits of SDH, such as Quality of Service control and protection, without the expense of replacing the existing undersea cable.
A highlight of the network is Marconi's ability to provide this very high capacity solution over dispersion-shifted fiber -- a particularly challenging type of fiber for DWDM systems, due to its non-linear transmission effects that normally severely limit the number of individual wavelengths that can be supported. The capacity of the new optical backbone is twelve wavelengths per fiber pair, each at 2.5 Gbit/s and scalable to 10 Gbit/s.
Marconi also is collaborating with Telesoft, Telecom Italia's software arm, and third-party suppliers in a development project to integrate Marconi's DWDM equipment and the SDH MS-SPRING protection mechanism within Telecom Italia's existing network management platform.
"This contract provides a magnificent showcase for Marconi's products and services, notably the SmartPhotoniX range," said Enrico Castanini, managing director, Marconi Communications Italy. "With our current optical range and developments such as our PMA-32 optical ring product attracting interest worldwide, Marconi can demonstrate its ability to deliver turnkey solutions, from design and commissioning, through to maintenance and training."
About Marconi plc
Marconi plc is a global communications and IT company with 49,000 employees worldwide and sales in over 100 countries. It supplies advanced communications solutions and the key technologies and services for the Internet. Marconi plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI and trades on the Nasdaq OTC BB under the symbol MCONY. The headquarters of Marconi Communications is in Pittsburgh, PA. Additional information about Marconi and Marconi Communications can be found at www.marconi.com.
All other brands or product names are trademarks of their respective holders.
Note:
DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) is a technique for adding capacity to individual strands of fiber-optical cable -- "Dense" simply refers to the large number of wavelengths. Light generated and sent by lasers down each fiber is split into wavelengths (also referred to as channels or as the Greek letter "lambda"), each capable of carrying a discrete service to the capacity of the original fiber.
Marconi's SmartPhotoniX range is a single, integrated family of products supporting optical transmission for long-haul and metropolitan networks -- any mix of line and ring topologies at national or regional levels -- with levels of resilience, management and configurability appropriate for even the largest carrier networks. All components of the SmartPhotoniX family are fully configurable and manageable from remote or central sites, integrated with Marconi's existing SDH management systems. In addition, SmartPhotoniX incorporates among the best optical amplifiers in the world, augmenting the signals over long distances, plus several "plug `n' play" innovations in fiber connectivity, making the components far easier to install and configure.
CONTACT: Geof Becker, 724-742-6377, or geof.becker@marconi.com, or Brian Dolby, +44115 906 4687, or brian.dolby@marconicomms.com, both Media Relations of Marconi.
SOURCE Marconi plc
CONTACT:Geof Becker, 724-742-6377, or geof.becker@marconi.com, or Brian
Dolby, +44115 906 4687, or brian.dolby@marconicomms.com, both Media Relations
of Marconi
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