ASC International and Alcatel-Lucent to rollout 4,800km submarine cable system, providing first private open access from Western Australia to Asia
New multi-terabit system, with an option for 100G transmission design, will support high performance data networking services
Paris, May 10, 2011 – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and Australia-Singapore Cable International Limited, (ASC International) a specialist submarine cable owner and sponsored by Leighton Contractors Telecommunications, have signed a contract, worth several million US dollars, to build a 4,800km multi-terabit submarine cable system with an option for 100 Gigabit per second (100G) transmission. The new system will link Perth, Australia, to Singapore, providing the first open access high-speed connection from Western Australia to South East Asia.
Commercial operation of the network is planned to start in 2013. It will enhance the reach and capacity of ASC International’s service offering to meet its customers’ bandwidth demands for high-performance data networking services, while supporting traffic growth driven by smartphones and cloud computing applications. Providing around 8 times more capacity than similar regional routes, this new submarine cable system will fill the much needed gap in the market place connecting Australia to Asia.
The system design has an ultimate capacity of at least 6 Tbit/s and potentially over 16 Tbit/s with the 100G option. From Perth, traffic will be transported across terrestrial infrastructure, to provide competitive wholesale backbone services in Australia. ASC International will potentially deliver the first end-to-end submarine and terrestrial infrastructure capable of supporting 100G speeds with end-to-end services from Singapore to Sydney.
“This is a landmark project as it represents our first investment in a submarine cable network. This system will enable us to significantly increase our overall network footprint and service offering,” said Peter McGrath, Chairman ASC International and Executive General Manager of Leighton Contractors Telecommunications division. “We are delighted to be undertaking this venture with Alcatel-Lucent and taking a new step forward in delivery of up to the minute, high-capacity bandwidth to our customers.”
“Today, 40G is increasingly a key requirement to manage traffic growth and meet multi-terabit capacity demands. 100G technology for submarine links is the next step to meet future bandwidth demand and match high-sped interconnection requirements with terrestrial networks,” said Philippe Dumont, President of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks SAS. “As a leader in advanced coherent technology, Alcatel-Lucent is committed to help ASC International enhance its existing infrastructure by providing a significant communication link in the Indian Ocean.”
Delivered on a turnkey basis, the system will integrate Alcatel-Lucent cable, repeaters, branching units, power feeding equipment and the 1620 Light Manager (LM) submarine line terminal initially equipped with advanced coherent 40G technology. Also, the Alcatel-Lucent 1620 LM is designed to accommodate 40G and 100G wavelengths in the same platform, enabling seamless capacity upgrade without traffic interruption.
This project further strengthens the Alcatel-Lucent position in Australia, which builds on several terrestrial and submarine projects rolled out with major operators,
More about the Alcatel-Lucent solution
The Alcatel-Lucent 1620 Light Manager (LM) submarine line terminal supports a phase shift keying (PSK)-based modulation with additional performance enhancements provided by advanced signal processing. Signal processing associated with coherent technology will allow operators to deal with transmission impairments in a cost-effective and automated manner, and also allow performance tuning through the life of the system. This flexibility in implementing different modulation formats enables Alcatel-Lucent to offer service providers the best technology option for new deployments and for existing networks that need to migrate to higher capacities without any impact on existing traffic and network operations. Alcatel-Lucent first demonstrated 100G transmission in 2009 with the highest capacity ever achieved over a transoceanic distance. In experiment carried out by Bell Labs, the transmission record of more than 100 Petabits per second kilometer involved sending the equivalent of 400 DVDs per second over 7,000 kilometers, roughly the distance between Paris and Chicago.
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.
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