wiredinUSA March 2014

INDEX

Undersea from Tripoli

Network expansion

Seacom has revealed its intention to invest in terrestrial backhaul and additional subsea connectivity in line with its commitment to provide customers with resilient servicesandpromotefurthergrowth of the continent's telecoms infrastructure. Seacom has upgraded its South African backhaul networks, linking its west and east coast cable assets through activation of multiple wavelengths between Johannesburg and Cape Town, coupled with upgrades of the network platforms that support its services to major cable interconnection hubs in Yzterfontein and Mtunzini. In addition, Seacomhas acquired additional west coast subsea capacity to meet demand from both its transmission and IP/MPLS customers. Officials said strong adoption of Seacom's MPLS and IP transit services had also prompted the company to upgrade its IP/ MPLS network across Africa, Europe and Asia. Seacom is in the final stages of negotiating contracts with vendors for the rollout of an enhanced services platform, intended to keep Seacom at the forefront of African data connectivity.

Alcatel-Lucent has signed a turnkey contract with the Libyan International Telecommunication Company (LITC) to build a 1,000km undersea cable system linking Libya's capital, Tripoli, to Benghazi. The system is designed to play a critical role in the reconstruction of Libya’s telecom infrastructure, improving connectivity and providing communication reliability for business, public sector and consumer applications, particularly at a time when global demand for broadband services continues to grow. Based on Alcatel-Lucent‘s 100G technology and a cable optimized with coherent submarine fiber, the system will ultimately carry capacity in excess of 10Tbit/s per fiber pair and is expected to be completed in mid-2015. Dr Mohmoud Aujali, chairman of LITC, said: “Broadband connectivity is a major growth opportunity for the foreseeable future, and the development of a robust telecommunication infrastructure is vital. With the help of Alcatel-Lucent, our new submarine cable system promises a significant contribution to the overall developments that are being undertaken to improve standard of living for Libyans.”

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

wiredInUSA - March 2014

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