Latest press releases

Redazione ufficio stampa

Read the latest press releases and search the archives of TIM Group's Press Office. Read more

Telecom Italia picks Lucent Technologies

10/26/2000 - 12:00 PM

Telecom Italia has selected Lucent Technologies to equip its own Pan-European high-speed network. The four-year agreement reached by the two companies covers the supply of materials and services worth around EUR90 million, employing Lucent optical networking systems to make the company´s 11,000 km fiber-optic network operational.

Telecom Italia will deploy Lucent´s WaveStar™ OLS 400G - a dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system with a maximum capacity of 400 gigabits per second (Gb/s) - and its WaveStar TDM 10G - a synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) system capable of transmitting 10 Gb/s across a single wavelength of light. Lucent´s OLS 400G increases a fiber´s capacity by dividing light into multiple wavelengths - or colors - with each simultaneously carrying distinct streams of information. With 400 gigabits of capacity, this system can transmit approximately 80 million one-page emails per second.

The addition of such considerable bandwidth will considerably increase the speed of content download from the Internet, and make data sharing possible with contacts around the world.

"Telecom Italia is keen to extract value from investments in its network through this partnership", said Oscar Cicchetti, Head of the Telecom Italia International Operations Business Unit. "Development of this pan-European backbone will enable Telecom Italia to consolidate its offerings in this market, notably end-to-end wholesale international services, inclusive of access and advanced applications services available via international data centers. This agreement with Lucent fits perfectly into Telecom Italia´s internationalization strategy, one of the main drivers of which is development of wholesale services."

"Optical technology is revolutionizing the way the world does business," said Jeong Kim, Group President of Lucent Technologies Optical Networking Group. "Through the most comprehensive range of optical networking products available on the market today, Lucent is building communications networks that are free from bandwidth restrictions. Telecom Italia shares our vision, that of supplying a solid, reliable network capable of transferring information around the world at light speed."

"This accord reinforces the already close relationship between Lucent and Telecom Italia", said Silvano Beghetti, CEO of Lucent Technologies Italia. "We are extremely satisfied to be able to add our optical networking offer to the previous agreements with Telecom Italia in the Intelligent network and access sectors."

Telecom Italia´s pan-European network, using fiber-optics throughout, connects Italy with all main cities in Western and Central Europe, and forms part of a global network that also includes Mediterranean Nautilus and Latin American Nautilus.