INFIGATE selects Alcatel for its Pan - East-European high-speed fiber
optics network
Alcatel to deliver over 1.6 million kilometers of optical fiber
Prague,Czech Republic and Paris,France-November 30,2000-INFIGATE GmbH,has selected
Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA),world leader in intelligent optical networking,to deploy a
state-of-the-art optical fiber network in Central and Eastern Europe over the next three years. The
total contract represents over 1.6 million kilometers of optical fiber. The deployment of such a
high-speed optical network is coming just as the Eastern European market is starting to experience
significant growth in both bandwidth demand as well as in the demand for faster data transmission
services.
INFIGATE's Pan-East-European network will initially connect
Prague,Frankfurt,Vienna,Budapest,Bratislava,Warsaw and Berlin.
As part of the contract,Alcatel will provide a hybrid optical cable solution including Single-mode
Fiber and TeraLightTM,Alcatel's Non Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber,which is one of the most
technically advanced fibers available on the market today. Alcatel's optical fiber solution is
optimized for long-distance transmissions,and can be cost effectively upgraded to 40 Gb/s
systems-safeguarding current and future investments. The flexibility of the solution will ensure that
INFIGATE is quickly able to meet the growing bandwidth demand of its customers in this region.
According to Klaus Kirchhoefer,Chief Executive Officer of INFIGATE,"one of the reasons that
we have chosen Alcatel as the preferred supplier for our optical fiber network is
because of our goal to deploy the highest quality network."
"We have been working closely with INFIGATE for some time,and their selection
of Alcatel to supply fiber optics solutions confirms our world leadership in the
optical transport business",stated Jacques Blanc,President of Alcatel's optical fiber activities.
"We are pleased to be able to support INFIGATE in building one of the most
advanced fiber optics networks in this part of the world. "
Alcatel's solution is further enhanced by the proprietary Alcatel Fiber Coating (AFCTM) process and
ColorLockTM,which actually improves the quality and durability of the fiber optics over time. The
ability to deploy a high quality and longer lasting network will ensure that the life of the network is
prolonged and that ongoing maintenance costs are reduced.
About INFIGATE GmbH
INFIGATE GmbH is a young and dynamically developing telecommunications company with a strong
investment background. Deutsche Bank Industrial Holdings AG (a Deutsche Bank Group
member),which holds a 49% stake in the company,is INFIGATE's partner and financial investor.
INFIGATE was founded on September 30th,1999 and it now employs 40 people. The company is
headquartered in Essen,Germany. Its services,which include the telehotel project,are based on its
own telecommunications infrastructure. Within the next three years,INFIGATE will invest more than
DM 450 Million into a first-class telecommunications infrastructure based on fiber-optics technology
in the Central and East European regions.
About Alcatel
Alcatel builds next-generation networks,delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data networking
solutions to established and new carriers,as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With
120,000 employees and sales of Euro 23 billion in 1999,Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.
Alcatel is the only vendor to master all optical network elements,from optical components,optical
fibers and DWDM systems to core routers and network intelligence,and from terrestrial to
submarine solutions. Alcatel is also the only company to provide both terrestrial and marine
services for the installation and maintenance of global,seamless optical networks.
According to RHK's 2000 study,Alcatel holds the number two position in global optical transport
market with 20% market share,distancing itself from all other competitors. RHK also reported that
Alcatel reaffirms its number one position in submarine networks with 41% worldwide market share.
Moreover,Alcatel claims to be the world leader in total terrestrial and submarine DWDM systems,in
digital cross-connects,which contain the enabling technology for operators to offer high bandwidth
services,and in SDH networks.
Alcatel's optics business comprises terrestrial and submarine transmission systems,fiber optics
and optical components. Alcatel has launched a new class of Alcatel stock which is intended to
track the performance of Alcatel Optronics,the Company's optical component business.
The new TeraLightTM fiber developed at Alcatel overcomes limitations of current
Non-Zero-Dispersion Shifted optical Fibers (NZDSF) used for high capacity long distance
applications . TeraLight fiber has a chromatic dispersion value,which dramatically reduces
non-linearity. Moreover the reduced dispersion slope allows operation in a broad range of
wavelength regions and opens up the 4th optical window on 1440 nm. Recently,Alcatel achieved a
total bandwidth of 5,120 Gb/s (5.12Tbit/s) by using DWDM transmission with 128 Channels at 40
Gb/s,which allow the transmission of 100 million telephone conversations simultaneously,over 300
km distance. TeralightTM is a trademark of Alcatel.
Contact press@www.alcatel.com |
