Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA, NYSE:ALA), a provider of intelligent optical networking, announced it signed an end-to-end optical transmission network expansion contract for $20 million (USD) with Sichuan Unicom, a subsidiary of China Unicom. This new contract makes Alcatel a principal supplier of optical transmission systems to Sichuan Unicom.
Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel will provide Sichuan Unicom with its advanced Optinex DWDM/SDH (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) solutions and network management systems, covering the provincial, regional and local network layers.
The transmission network supplied will operate at 2.5 Gbit/s and will be connected to the GSM network of Sichuan Unicom, which is based on about 3000 base stations and serves over 1.5 million subscribers. Furthermore, the Alcatel network management system currently deployed will be interconnected with new regional network management systems of Alcatel to form a comprehensive integrated platform managing 17 regional maintenance centers.
This expansion project will further separate the layers of the existing network into provincial backbone layer (using DWDM and SDH), regional backbone layer (2.5 Gbit/s SDH), and local network layer (155 Mbit/s and 622 Mbit/s SDH). As a result, network flexibility will be increased, enabling the Sichuan Unicom GSM network to satisfy not only the business development needs, but also to support future service offerings, such as CDMA and data transmission.
Alcatel has implemented over the past three years the provincial backbone DWDM project and several expansions of GSM optical transmission expansion projects for Sichuan Unicom. The present contract brings the total value for all transmission projects executed by Alcatel for Sichuan Unicom to $60 million.
The Optinex family of carrier-class transmission solutions is designed with features that enable operators to offer a full range of services to business and residential users, including the IP-based services with guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). IP and ATM grooming and forwarding functionality is introduced into Optinex Multiservice Nodes and Gateways, thus reducing the amount of investments needed to build up a transmission network and to operate it. The current terrestrial Optinex product range also includes wide-band optical amplifiers and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing systems (DWDM) with high-channel counts and very high-performance applications, able to multiplex up to 160 channels -- upgradable to 240 -- with optical tributaries from 100Mbit/s to 10Gbit/s. Within this range, Optinex Optical network Systems are capable of reaching up to 2.4 Tbit/s. of capacity. All the above mentioned systems are managed by a single, fully integrated Network management System enabling efficient traffic control and routing throughout all network levels, from local up to intercontinental links and from submarine to terrestrial ones.
About Alcatel:
Alcatel provides optical network elements, from optical components, optical fibers, DWDM systems and microwave radio links to core routers and network intelligence, and from terrestrial to submarine solutions. Alcatel also provides both terrestrial and marine services for the installation and maintenance of global, seamless optical networks. For more information, visit www.alcatel.com.