Alcatel Awarded New Submarine and Terrestrial Optical Network Project in the Eastern Caribbean Region

PARIS, Oct. 3  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP.PA) today announced that it has signed a turnkey contract with South Caribbean Fiber (SCF), a subsidiary of the LORET Group, to deploy a new submarine cable network spanning the eastern Caribbean islands. The project represents a new, significant step in the creation of an advanced submarine network infrastructure that supports the high-speed broadband connectivity required to generate new opportunities of economic growth and development in the region.

With completion scheduled by mid-2007, the new submarine cable network will extend the regional communication reach to Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad. SCF will interconnect with the Global Caribbean Network (GCN) - linking Guadeloupe to Puerto Rico and the Virgin islands, through the St. Martin and St. Barthelemy islands - that is being inaugurated for commercial service today, in Pointe-a-Pitre. SCF will also interconnect with the Middle Caribbean Network (MCN) submarine system linking Martinique and Dominica. SCF will deliver additional multi-Gbit/s capacity and will span about 1,000 km bringing the total coverage enabled by the three combined projects to about 2,100 km.

"Through this extension, we are moving one step ahead to connect 14 islands of the Caribbean, from Trinidad to St. Croix and Puerto Rico, and from there directly to Miami. The next-generation submarine network will provide broadband network capacity at economical pricing for the next 20 years or more," stated Ehsan Emami President of GCN, MCN and SCF.

"Following the GCN and MCN awards, we are pleased to again contribute to fulfill the escalating demand for broadband services of Caribbean's business and residential users," said Jean Godeluck, President of Alcatel's submarine network activity. "This achievement further validates Alcatel's expertise in deploying field-proven solutions that offer reliable optical connectivity for faster and more cost-effective communications."

Alcatel will supply its new-generation dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) submarine line terminal, unrepeatered systems, as well as its Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) systems for terrestrial applications. The Alcatel 1350 management suite will manage all the equipment. Furthermore, Alcatel will provide a comprehensive set of services including marine and terrestrial installation, commissioning and integration.

About South Caribbean Fiber (SCF)

South Caribbean Fiber (SCF) is a new cable operator in the Caribbean Region. SCF, like his sister companies GCN and MCN are part of the LORET Group. LORET Group operates in diversified sectors in Metropolitan France and the French Overseas Departments, LORET Group is one of the major actors in the French West Indies and Guiana economies with sales of EURO 500 million in 2005. SCF will provide to local and international operators broadband services at very cost effective levels.

About Alcatel

Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world. With sales of EURO 13.1 billion and 58,000 employees in 2005, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com/ 

DATASOURCE: Alcatel



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