Verizon Prepares for Europe India Gateway Submarine Cable

Verizon Business confirmed plans to expand its converged packet architecture (CPA) network in Europe this year, adding locations in Germany (Hamburg and Munich) and in the Netherlands (Rotterdam) to the 127 sites already on the global CPA network. An ULH expansion has already been completed throughout France, and the company is focused on a 1,300-kilometer ULH expansion project in the United Kingdom and a new diverse link between Europe and the U.K.


One of the most significant network enhancements to the European network during 2010 will be the activation of the 15,000-kilometer Europe India Gateway cable system, which is now about 93 percent in terns of marine installations.


This new undersea optical cable system will link 12 countries/territories and connect Europe, the Middle East and India. Verizon Business is one of 16 companies building this cable. The cable has a design capacity of up to 3.84 Tbps and will provide Verizon Business a second, diverse connection into the company's Marseille cable terminal. The Southeast Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) submarine cable also lands at the Marseille site, and has diverse fiber routes and equipment rooms at the facility. Verizon Business is the only U.S.-based founding member of SEA-ME-WE 4.
http://www.verizonbusiness.comInvestors in the Europe India Gateway cable system include AT&T; Bharti Airtel; BT; C&W; Djibouti Telecom; Du; Gibtelecom; IAM; Libyan Post, Telecom and Information Technology Company; MTN Group Ltd; Omantel; PT Comunica��es, S.A.; Saudi Telecom Company; Telecom Egypt; Telkom SA Ltd; and Verizon Business. Landings are planned in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and India.

Alcatel-Lucent is providing turnkey work for a portion of the EIG system. Alcatel-Lucent has responsibility for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of the Atlantic-Mediterranean submarine segment, which spans 7,100 km. The company will also use the 1678 Metro Core Connect, and deploy its latest generation 1626 Light Manager DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) transmission equipment to provide seamless connectivity across the two terrestrial links in the UK and Egypt at 40 Gbps.