OTE chooses Alcatel's wet & dry DWDM transmission network
28 February 2003 -- The Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. (OTE), Greece's largest telecoms operator, has selected Alcatel's solution to provide a wet & dry DWDM-based transmission network.
The new integrated infrastructure will significantly expand OTE's network capacity and coverage, as well as support the multimedia traffic driven by the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2003 and will include the supply of network engineering services for the terrestrial network and future upgrades.
The turnkey project calls for Alcatel to design and install a submarine cable ring and expand OTE's domestic and international terrestrial backbone network. Composed of two cables spanning more than 350km each, the submarine system will use Alcatel's 10Gbit/s 1640 Wavelength Multiplexer (WM) unrepeatered systems for long-haul and ultra-long-haul applications to connect Corfu, Greece, to Bari in southern Italy. The domestic network will also deploy Alcatel's 1686 WM in the terrestrial portion linking Corfu to Greece mainland's cities, including Athens, Kozani, Ioannina, Larissa, Patras and Thessaloniki.
Alcatel and OTE have previously cooperated in submarine projects around the world, such as Sea-Me-We3, the Black Sea Fiber Optic System (BSFOCS) and Aphrodite (with Cyprus Telecommunications Authority).
OTE forms, together with 10 subsidiaries, one of the leading groups of companies in Greece, and is a major sponsor of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Based on market capitalisation, it is currently the largest Greek company listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and among the 24 companies constituting the Greek index of Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), with a strong presence in the international stock exchanges of New York and London. Net debt is substantially lower than that of the largest European telecom companies. OTE offers over 65 high-quality products and services to both business and residential customers. Addressing a total population of 60 million, it has a strong presence in the markets of South-Eastern Europe and the Middle East through the acquisition of substantial stakes in foreign telecom companies both in fixed and mobile telephony.