CORPORATE NEWS:
Next generation submarine optical network: Sea-Me-We 4
Alcatel, France, has recently announced that it will be deploying the new generation of the Sea-Me-We submarine cable network. Alcatel and its co-contractor, Fujitsu, Japan, have been awarded the Sea-Me-We 4 project on a turnkey basis. The project will deliver a new terabit cable, which is more than 32 times the initial capacity of the previous Sea-Me-We 3 system. It will be designed to support a huge data growth, leased line and broadband services. The Sea-Me-We 4 submarine cable will span nearly 20,000km, which is equivalent to approximately half of the circumference of the globe, linking 14 countries from France to Singapore via Italy, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia with 16 landing points. Delivering the first ever Bangladesh submarine cable system, the new cable network will utilise Alcatel’s submarine and terrestrial optical networking solutions based on the most advanced technologies.
The Sea-Me-We 4 cable network will have landing points to connect to each landing party’s terrestrial network. Alcatel will supply the three segments from India (Mumbai) to France (Marseille), including a land crossing in Egypt and the SDH equipment for the whole system. This represents a total of nearly 11,000km of submarine cable. Fujitsu will supply Segment 1 of the System, spanning from Singapore to India (Mumbai) over a total cable length of nearly 8,000km. The new cable network will have a capacity superior to one Terabit, which is 32 times the initial capacity of the Sea-Me-We 3 system. It will be two fibre pairs carrying each a maximum of 64 wavelengths at 10Gbit/s each.
Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel will supply its new-generation dense wavelength division multiplexing submarine line terminal, which enables operators to expand and upgrade their repeatered submarine cable networks. This delivers the most recent developments in optical transmission and network design, featuring a compact footprint, reduced power consumption and enhanced ability to multiplex traffic over the same fibre. Alcatel will also supply its DWDM system for terrestrial applications completing and extending Alcatel’s offering for regional and long haul DWDM. “The new award strengthens our successful co-operation and shared customer-focus view to deliver communications infrastructures that allow end-users to continuously benefit from the most advanced services”, commented Mr Jean Godeluck, president of Alcatel's submarine network activity.
Alcatel and the Sea-Me-We consortia have been co-operating since Sea-Me-We 1 and 2. This co-operation continued onwards in 1997, when Sea-Me-We 3 was launched (refer to EuroWire N° 24). Initially connecting South East Asia, Middle East and Western Europe, it links Far East Asia, South East Asia, Australia, South Asia, Middle East, Southern, Western and Northen Europe. It crosses the Seven Seas, spanning approximately 40,000km. The network has been in service for three years, gathering 92 telecommunications carriers along the route, such as France Télécom, Deutsche Telekom AG, Telecom Italia, OTE, Etisalat, China Telecom, SingTel, BT, KDD, Telecom Egypt, Saudi Telecom, etc. It remains the most complex network architecture of any undersea system in the world to date, with traffic connections between 39 landing points along the route.
Photo: The Sea-Me-We 3 submarine optical network
Photo: Map showing the Sea-Me-We 4 route
Company: |
Alcatel |
Country: |
France |
Fax: |
+33 1 47 56 69 24 |
Email: |
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Website: |
www.alcatel.com |