Alcatel has signed a turnkey contract valued at €42m with the Post & Telecommunications Office (OPT) of New Caledonia to roll out a submarine cable network connecting New Caledonia and Australia. Based on Alcatel's optical networking solutions, the new deployment, dubbed Gondwana-1, will significantly increase the capacity of OPT's network.
The project is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2008 and will offer high-speed connectivity to the Territory. This new submarine network will link Nouméa, in New Caledonia, to Sydney, in Australia where it will interconnect with the international routes towards Europe and the US. An unrepeatered link will also connect Poindimié, on the New Caledonian East coast, to the Loyalty Islands.
Alcatel will deploy its new-generation dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) submarine line terminal - the Alcatel 1620 Light Manager (LM), its cables and repeaters. Alcatel will also install its Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) systems to connect the network's landing stations.
The equipment will be managed by the Alcatel 1350 management suite, which optimises bandwidth usage for fast and reliable broadband service rollout. As part of supporting services, Alcatel will lay the cable using its Ile de Ré cable ship, based at Nouméa, and will be in charge of the configuration and integration of the terrestrial and submarine equipment.
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I´d have to say - ´help´ - in the longer term. It is well recognised that productivity in the UK lags well behind our major industrial competitors and...