Tiscali taps Alcatel-Lucent for 100G fiber-optic network backbone

Italy's Tiscali has selected Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) to supply the technology necessary to upgrade both terrestrial and submarine network routes to 100 Gbps. The upgrade will leverage the system provider's 1830 Photonic Service Switch and 1621 Submarine Link Extender (SLE).

The terrestrial part of the upgrade will help Tiscali meet its obligations under Italy's Digital Growth initiative, which includes improving bandwidth access for public institutions such as schools and hospitals.

On the undersea cable end, Alcatel-Lucent will upgrade the link between Olbia in Sardinia and Civitavecchia, on the Italian peninsula, and the submarine cable between Cagliari in Sardinia and Mazara del Vallo in Sicily. Both unrepeatered links use the 1621 SLE; the extenders will see their capabilities increased to handle 100-Gbps wavelengths.

Tiscali will leverage Alcatel-Lucent's 1350 Optical Management System (OMS) as a common management platform for both terrestrial and submarine routes.

The service provider expects to complete the upgrades by October of this year.

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