Alcatel-Lucent and Malta’s GO boost broadband access speeds to households across the country
GO is providing higher bandwidth and capacity to subscribers in Malta by upgrading its broadband network with Alcatel-Lucent’s breakthrough copper and fiber access technologies
Paris, September 28, 2011 – With the help of Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), GO, Malta’s leading communications service provider, is delivering superfast broadband services including video, high-speed internet access and voice services to subscribers throughout the country.
Today, new applications such as peer-to-peer social networking, online video sharing and video gaming are dramatically increasing capacity demands on communications networks, and service providers such as GO are looking for ways to accelerate the availability of higher speeds and bandwidth immediately to address this demand. To help meet this need, Alcatel-Lucent is providing GO with a state-of–the-art portfolio of fiber and copper-based access technologies that will help them connect their customers in the fastest and most cost-effective way.
Michael Mertsch, Chief Technical Officer at GO said: “We are committed to address our customers’ needs for higher bandwidth, faster speeds and enhanced reliability while reusing much of our existing infrastructure, helping reduce our investment costs. Alcatel-Lucent’s expertise is helping us to modernize today’s network with tomorrow’s capabilities.”
Gianluca Baini, president Mediterranean Customer Unit at Alcatel-Lucent said:“Because widespread installation of fiber is a lengthy process, service providers need additional technology options for delivering high-performance bandwidth in a shorter time-frame. Our High Leverage Network (HLN) architecture supports a mix of advanced copper and fiber technologies such as VDSL2, which is boosting bit rates on existing infrastructures to help service providers enhance their network today and stay ahead of the broadband curve for many years to come. GO will be able to make its service offerings even more attractive and competitive, very quickly while making the best use of its existing investments.”
For the deployment, Alcatel-Lucent is providing GO with its industry-leading Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) product family, which supports passive optical networking (PON) and digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies on the same platform. GO is already delivering faster broadband services with VDSL2, an advanced copper access technology, and has completed successful lab testing of Gigabit PON (GPON) fiber-based access.
With the ISAM product family, GO can support a mix of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) deployment models, giving them enormous flexibility to choose the quickest, most cost-effective way to meet subscribers’ broadband needs. The ISAM family is a cornerstone of Alcatel-Lucent’s High Leverage NetworkTM architecture. This new project further strengthens the cooperation between Alcatel-Lucent and GO that has already deployed Alcatel-Lucent’s access, optical, mobile and wireless transport solutions.
Alcatel-Lucent is a worldwide leader in the deployment of GPON technology, having been involved already in more than 100 FTTH projects – over 85 of which are based on GPON. Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON customer base not only consists of leading operators such as Verizon, Portugal Telecom and Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited, but also includes a considerable number of utility companies, municipalities and regions around the world. Alcatel-Lucent has unparalleled expertise in VDSL2 – the company has supplied more than half of the VDSL2 lines in the field today, worldwide. Over the past 8 years, the company has pioneered innovative approaches to allow operators to get the most out of their copper plant: for example high-capacity VDSL platforms and VDSL2 Bonding deployments, both of which were market firsts.
GO is Malta’s first quadruple play operator, a truly converged and integrated communications and entertainment company with a wide range of services. As Malta’s leading provider of telecommunications services, GO offers fixed phone, mobile telephony, broadband internet services, digital tv, in addition to business-related services like data networking solutions, business IP services, managed and co-location facilities. GO powers more than 515,000 customer connections and services – thus making it the largest communications provider in Malta.
GO has been in the business of communications for the past 30 years and its major shareholder is Emirates International Telecommunications LLC (EIT), a joint venture between TECOM Investments and Dubai Investment Group – both part of Dubai Holding. The remaining shares are traded on the Malta and London Stock Exchanges
GO Press Contacts
Vanessa Macdonald – Tel. +356 2594 2797
About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)
The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leader in mobile, fixed, IP and Optics technologies, and a pioneer in applications and services. Alcatel-Lucent includes Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost centres of research and innovation in communications technology.
With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach.
The Company achieved revenues of Euro 16 billion in 2010 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.
