Alcatel-Lucent announces the PCCS operators to boost fast broadband access in the Caribbean, Central and South America
Tuesday, Dec 04, 2012

A group of telecommunications operators consisting of Cable & Wireless Communications, Setar, Telconet, Telefónica a Global Solutions and United Telecommunication Services (UTS) has signed a turnkey contract with Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)  to deploy the Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS), a 100G submarine cable system linking Jacksonville, Florida to Manta, Ecuador.

The 6000km submarine cable system will strengthen digital links as demand grows rapidly throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America for online content such as tourism related services, sports coverage and digital TV. Work will start before the end of the year and commercial operations for the PCCS are scheduled to commence by the third quarter of 2014.

In addition to Florida and Ecuador, the system will connect the islands of Tortola, Puerto Rico, Aruba and Curacao, as well as Cartagena in Colombia and Maria Chiquita and Balboa in Panama. The system will have an ultimate design capacity of 80 Terabit-per-second, dramatically boosting connectivity and substantially increasing the availability of broadband services. Additionally, the PCCS will increase communications reliability and help reduce the risk of communications disruption by providing cable route diversity and alternative bandwidth access to existing cables in the region.

The Alcatel-Lucent solution to be deployed for the project includes an integrated 100G wet plant of cable optimized with coherent submarine fiber and high bandwidth repeaters, power feed equipment, and its 1620 Light Manager (LM) submarine line terminal equipped with advanced coherent technology. Offering unique flexibility and scalability to accommodate multiple data rate wavelengths, the Alcatel-Lucent 1620 LM enables seamless capacity upgrade on flexible grid for channel spacing without traffic interruption. The solution will be managed by the Alcatel-Lucent end-to-end submarine management system. As part of the turnkey contract, Alcatel-Lucent will also be responsible for project management, system design, marine operations and system commissioning.

"With the signing of this agreement, we are ready to roll-out this new undersea system which will offer a clear evolution path toward faster speeds and higher capacity communications. The PCCS will help the CALA region and its people to benefit from sustainable social and economic growth. Alcatel-Lucent's industry-leading submarine technology and its invaluable customer commitment will help us deliver high-quality and reliable services to meet end-users' demand."

About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)

The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leading innovator in the field of networking and communications technology, products and services. The company is home to Bell Labs, one of the world's foremost research centers, responsible for breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Alcatel-Lucent was named one of MIT Technology Review's 2012 Top 50 list of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" for breakthroughs such as lightRadio™, which cuts power consumption and operating costs on wireless networks while delivering lightning fast Internet access. Through such innovations, Alcatel-Lucent is making communications more sustainable, more affordable and more accessible as we pursue our mission - Realizing the Potential of a Connected World.

With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The Company achieved revenues of Euro 15.3 billion in 2011 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.

Source: Alcatel-Lucent