Flag, Alcatel sign Falcon submarine cable deal

London/Paris: FLAG Telecom and Alcatel on Tuesday singed a deal for the construction of FALCON, a multi-terabit/s, DWDM submarine cable system. 

Patrick Gallagher, CEO, FLAG Telecom, said: "Demand for high-quality, cost-effective bandwidth to and from India and the Middle East is exploding. FALCON is a key element in our future plans to meet our customer requirements and we are delighted to be working again with
Alcatel."

The deal includes managing all areas of the cable build, installation, commissioning and testing. Alcatel would supply its next-generation DWDM submarine line terminal that incorporates the most recent developments in optical transmission enabling operators to maximize their network efficiency. Alcatel's Optical Multi-Service Node and 1678 Metro Core Connect terrestrial systems would be installed to connect the landing stations. All terrestrial and submarine equipment will be managed by an integrated network management system provided by
Alcatel.

"Following the successful deployments of FLAG Atlantic-1 and the FLAG North Asia Loop Cable System, this new project gives us the opportunity to once again co-operate with FLAG", said Jean Godeluck, President of Alcatel's submarine network activity.

FALCON would provide multiple landings throughout the Gulf region, with submarine links initially stretching to India in the east and to Egypt in the west. 

"FALCON will dramatically change the global communications infrastructure balance, bringing terabit/s capacity to the Gulf for the first time, and providing additional access to India, the second largest growth economy in the world," Gallagher added.

FALCON would span over 10,000 km and will offer significantly more high-quality capacity in the region to help address the growing traffic demands from the accelerating take up of broadband services. 

FLAG Telecom, a member company of the Reliance Group, has an established customer base of more than 180 leading operators, including all of the top ten international carriers. FLAG owns and manages an extensive optical fiber network spanning four continents and connecting key business markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA.