Alcatel onboard for C&W submarine venture

Cable & Wireless is to build a £800m transatlantic network, called Apollo, with the help of French communications company Alcatel.

Alcatel's four-year contract is valued at £300m and will see the French company manage the project from the initial survey through to design and installation. Service, which is included in the deal, covers cable faults and marine repairs. The network, based on DWDM technology, consists of four fibre optic pairs equipped with 80 wavelengths at 10Gbit/second with a total capacity of 3.2Tbit/second on each leg. Jean Godeluck, president of Alcatel's submarine network division, called the agreement an opportunity to further develop its partnership with C&W. This will be Alcatel's second transatlantic contract with C&W following the installation of transatlantic network Gemini. The network will be completed by the end of next year.