Long-distance telecommunications service provider Viatel Inc., New York City, intends to build a

Long-distance telecommunications service provider Viatel Inc., New York City, intends to build a pan-European fiber-optic network called Circe. Plans call for a self-healing, 20-Gbit/sec fiber-optic ring using wavelength-division multiplexing technology that will connect cities in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Excess capacity on the network would be available to other carriers. Should the necessary funding come through, Viatel plans to start construction in the spring and have an operational network by 1999.