[Lucent Technologies to be Preferred Supplier to Project Oxygen(TM) Global Undersea Network; Contract Estimated at $1 Billion]
(more details... mark)
MURRAY HILL, N.J., May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- 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:
-- WaveStar(TM) 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.
-- 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.
-- Integrated Transport Management (ITM) and ACTIVIEW(R) 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.
-- 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.
-- Fiber-optic infrastructure including Lucent's LGX(R) (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.
SOURCE Lucent Technologies
-0- 05/20/98
/CONTACT: Paula Horii, 908-582-5522, office, 908-301-0344, home, or phorii@lucent.com, or Loren Talley, 908-559-6417, office, 888-520-7338, pager, or ltalley@lucent.com, both of Lucent Technologies; or Robert Poe of CTR Group, 201-505-9000, ext. 8160, or poe@oxygen.org/
/Web site: oxygen.org
/Web site: lucent.com
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