Marconi supplies 300 DWDM systems for Vodafone Omnitel's national optical backbone
6 November 2002 -- Marconi has completed delivery of over 300 DWDM optical systems to Vodafone Omnitel to meet the availability requirements and the capacity demands of the broadband mobile 3G network. The agreement to supply the optical network equipment was announced in January 2002.
Marconi's technology will enable Vodafone Omnitel to light-up almost 12,000km of fibre-based infrastructure, connecting all major Italian cities. The agreement will combine the granularity of SDH technology with the broadband volume capacity of DWDM, and also enable a significant reduction in the operational costs of Vodafone Omnitel's broadband mobile network.
Giorgio Bertolina, executive chairman of Marconi Communications S.p.A., said: "In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to ensure our customers can capitalise on their existing investment and infrastructure".
The delivery of over 300 DWDM Marconi systems includes Photonics Line Terminals (PLTs), Photonics Line Amplifiers (PLAs) and Photonics Line Add/Drop (PLDs).
The PLx family is a flexible, fully managed DWDM line system with add/drop capability for long-haul network requirements, enabling operators to respond to changing traffic patterns. The family supports up to 800GHz capacity, incorporates multi-rate transponders for transport capability of standard SDH/SONET and Gigabit Ethernet protocols and provides an integrated SDH solution to increase network flexibility.
The system has hybrid EDFA and Raman amplification, OOB-FEC on both 2.5 and 10Gbit/s, and a 4x2.5Gbit/s TDM multiplexer, granting comprehensive protection options and complete Quality of Service. Exploiting L-Band technology, the PLx also provides high-transmission capacity over DSF fiber, adding value to previous infrastructure investments.
The DWDM layer can support 2.5 and 10Gbit/s signals enabling Vodafone Omnitel to meet the growing demand for high bandwidth data traffic. Additionally it positions the company strongly in the Italian market to meet the demands that will come from the introduction of 3G services, allowing Vodafone Omnitel to dynamically upgrade its existing network to a maximum capacity of 80 channels for 10Gbit/s.
Marconi will provide an integrated range of SDH ring terminals, a DWDM line system, optical cross connects, integrated network management, installation and training, together with network maintenance and 24/7 technical support.