Siemens Australia and New Zealand has won a major contract to supply the optical networks, edge routing and operational and technical support solution for Layer 2 Communications (Layer 2), an international bandwidth and wholesale IP services provider in Asia.
The new agreement between Siemens and Layer 2, founded in Australia in November 1998, and an initial party to the Asia Pacific Cable Network 2 (APCN 2), will involve Siemens supplying the equipment and support required to rollout Layer 2's network, which will initially span five countries. The new network will have its initial points of presence in Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and the US.
Layer 2 will establish a Network Operations Centre in Perth with engineering testing capabilities by July 2001. Following commissioning of APCN 2 in October 2001, Layer 2 plans to introduce point-to-point Leased Bandwidth Services and International Private Leased Services using Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) technologies.
Layer 2's equity position in APCN 2 matches that of major carriers in the region such as StarHub and Telstra. The cable will connect ten cities in Asia, extending from Singapore in the south, to Korea and Japan in the north. It is scheduled to be operational in October 2001 with an initial capacity of 160Gbit/s, progressively reaching its design capacity of 2.5Tbit/s by the final quarter of 2004.
Siemens will be supplying Layer 2 with a comprehensive turnkey solution across the five countries making up its network. In addition to optical networking equipment and edge routing, Siemens will also provide operational and technical support, a network operations centre (24x7x365) and on the ground field support in each country.
The initial network will consist of Siemens Series 4 SDH SMA 16 Add Drop Multiplexers and Unisphere Networks ERX-1400 EdgeRouters.
About Siemens Australia & New Zealand - Information and Communications:
Siemens Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG of Germany, a supplier of information and communication services and solutions.
About Layer 2 Communications
Layer 2 offers price competitive and capably delivered Leased Bandwidth Services, International Private Leased Circuits and Wholesale IP services, bringing to its clients solutions that are market focused and commercially flexible. For more information, visit www.l2c.net.