APRIL 27, 2007 -- Alcatel-Lucent (search for Alcatel-Lucent) and NEC Corp. (search for NEC) say they will jointly deploy the Asia America Gateway (AAG), the first direct Terabit submarine cable network between Southeast Asia and the United States.
Spanning over 20,000 km, AAG will link Malaysia to the U.S. via Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, and the West Coast of the U.S. Worth approximately $500 million, the contract will deliver a cable network spanning almost half the length of the equator, say the companies.
The turnkey contract was signed today with a consortium formed by ten parties, including the Government of Brunei, AT&T (USA), Bharti (India), CAT (Thailand), PLDT (Philippines), PT Telkom (Indonesia), Telekom Malaysia (Malaysia), Telstra (Australia), StarHub (Singapore), and VNPT (Vietnam). Alcatel-Lucent and NEC will design, manufacture, install, integrate, and commission the full network on a turnkey basis. The project is scheduled for completion by late 2008.
The new cable network is expected to meet the forecasted explosive growth in bandwidth requirements for new broadband applications. In addition to providing full network diversity from the conventional cable routes, which are normally connected via North Asia, the AAG will provide a seamless direct link between the U.S. and other Asian countries via one single cable, say Alcatel-Lucent and NEC representatives. Furthermore, it will provide connectivity and the ability to be expanded in the future to Australia, India, Africa, and Europe.
International communications between the countries involved has been growing rapidly and is expected to benefit greatly from the enhanced connectivity offered by the new cable network.
"AAG will help operators leverage a state-of-the art submarine infrastructure for the end-users benefit," confirms Jean Godeluck, president of Alcatel-Lucent's submarine network activity. "We are confident that this new project, rolled out in association with NEC, will further enable voice and data communications, which are vital to support social and economic development."
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