Alcatel-Lucent lands Challenger submarine cable network in Bermuda for Cable Co

Paris, France and Hamilton, Bermuda. — Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and Cable Co. Ltd., a Bermudian telecommunications company established by KeyTech Limited, North Rock Communications Ltd., and Transact Limited, announced today the landing of the new Challenger submarine cable network in Bermuda. Challenger will greatly improve the robustness of Bermuda’s telecommunications infrastructure by providing system redundancy. Challenger significantly enhances Bermuda’s ability to support the growing demand for international voice, video, data, and broadband services.

Challenger will span 1,445 km, linking Bermuda to the United States. Designed with an initial capacity of 20 Gbit/s, the newnetwork can be scaled up to 320Gbit/s. Work on the system started earlier this year and operations are expected to begin by early 2009.

“As a carriers’ carrier, we will sell high capacity transmission pipes to enable all Bermuda’s carriers to deliver new and innovative services. This will ensure that Bermuda continues to be an attractive jurisdiction for the global reinsurance and financial industries and enables all Bermuda customers to enjoy more reliable and cost effective services,” said Vicki Coelho, Chairman of the Cable Co. Marketing Committee. “Leveraging Alcatel-Lucent’s expertise and technological lead in the building of submarine networks has ensured a timely implementation in bringing more competition to Bermuda’s international telecommunications market.”

Alcatel-Lucent is overseeing the entire project and providing a turnkey network for the Challenger roll-out, including responsibility for the network design, installation and commissioning. Alcatel-Lucent is deploying its 1620 Light Manager (ML) submarine line terminal, cables and power feed equipment, along with its 1678 Metro Core Connect (MCC).

With more than 480,000 kilometers of submarine cables laid between continents, Alcatel-Lucent has played a key role in the development and implementation of the most important submarine cable networks in operation today.

“Challenger further confirms the need for facilitating global communications and for capacity enhancements that meet end-users’ service demands,” said Etienne Lafougère, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s submarine network activity. “This landing marks a significant new step in the development of Mid Atlantic communications, while strengthening Alcatel-Lucent’s reputation as a reliable partner able to provide every part of a global transport network.”