September 1, 2005 Morristown, NJ -- The purchasers of the consortium cable system South Africa Far East (SAFE) and Tyco Telecommunications have signed a contract for the second network upgrade for the SAFE Cable System, an undersea fiber-optic network that spans the Indian Ocean. The network, constructed by Tyco for the consortium in 1999, is comprised of six landing stations connecting South Africa, Mauritius, Reunion Island, India, and Malaysia.
According to Tyco, its SAFE Upgrade #2 is the first system deployment to exclusively use the company's 3rd Generation Terminal Equipment, which the company says offers 10-Gbit/sec performance, a ¼ smaller footprint, and ¼ the power consumption of former technology. According to the company, upon planned completion in the fourth quarter of 2006, the upgrade will triple the cable system's existing capacity from 30 to 90 Gbit/sec, allowing the network to operate at more than 50% of its maximum design capacity of 170 Gbit/sec, while providing additional upgrade capability to support future growth.
"The upgrade of the SAFE System is a direct result of the continued growth of the telecommunications market between Southern Africa, Indian Ocean, and Asia," observes Johan Meyer, executive of Telkom South Africa and the chairman of the consortium's management committee. "We chose Tyco Telecommunications for this major upgrade because of their intimate knowledge of the system and their strong technological leadership."
"We are pleased to continue our working relationship with the SAFE consortium members," comments Jeffrey Stark, managing director EMEA of Tyco Telecommunications. "The fact that the SAFE Network requires additional capacity today demonstrates how quickly this market is growing, and how well Telkom South Africa, France Telecom, Mauritius Telecom, VSNL, Telkom Malaysia, and the consortium members are meeting the needs of their customer base that stretches from South Africa across the Indian Ocean to the Far East."