Alcatel-Lucent completes 100G upgrade of Apollo undersea cable

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext and NYSE: ALU) says it has completed an upgrade of the Apollo undersea cable system linking the UK and France to the United States.

The Apollo system consists of two independent fiber-optic cables: Apollo North connects the UK to the U.S., and Apollo South connects France directly to the U.S., collectively spanning a total of 13,000 km. Conceived as part of the Cable & Wireless global network, the cable system was originally laid by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, and is now jointly owned by Vodafone UK and Alcatel-Lucent.

The recent upgrade is built on Alcatel-Lucent‘s latest 100G undersea technology, which enables each transatlantic system to ultimately carry capacity in excess of 25 Tbps, offering Apollo a seamless path to expand the submarine network in an efficient and cost-effective way. Client interfaces at 100 Gbps are being implemented to simplify the backhaul network from an operational and maintenance perspective.

Richard Elliott, managing director of Apollo, said, “Wholesale providers expect higher speeds, faster provisioning, and reliability. The deployment of Alcatel-Lucent’s 100G solution enables us to further meet these expectations on the largest international route in the world. At Apollo we only provide long-haul, high-capacity services and so getting this right is our entire focus. We are proud to work with Alcatel-Lucent and delighted with the performance of this step change in our technology.”

The cable system is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s 1620 Light Manager (LM) submarine line terminal equipment using coherent transmission at 100 Gbps.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.

Want to learn more about 100G innovation? Attend the Lightwave Optical Innovation Summit
The Lightwave Optical Innovation Summit will feature panels and presentations that will illuminate where optical innovation is required in carrier and enterprise/data center networks, what it should look like, and when it might appear. A wide range of experts from the user, technology development, academic, and analyst communities will offer their views on innovation in a variety of areas, including 100G. Find out more about the Summit, which will be held in Austin, TX, July 14-16, at the Lightwave Optical Innovation Summit website.