Alcatel Lands Sea-Me-We 4 & Med Cable

MARSEILLES, France -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA et NYSE: ALA) today announced that two new international submarine cable networks, Sea-Me-We4 and Med Cable, were successfully landed in the city of Marseilles in France. This achievement strengthens Marseilles' role as a key hub for international communications with Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The Sea-Me-We4 submarine cable network, installed in 18 months, nearly spans 20,000 km ? approximately half of the circumference of the globe - linking 14 countries from Singapore to France via Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Italy, and with 16 landing points. This system is designed to last 25 years with full reliability, and with 32 times the initial capacity of the previous Sea-Me-We 3 system, which was installed 7 years ago. The network will meet the fast growing needs from India and Middle-Eastern countries. It is operated by 16 carriers, including France Telecom.

The Med Cable network, deployed for Orascom, connects Marseilles to Algiers and Annaba in Algeria spanning approximately 1,300 km. Further strengthening the connections between Algeria, the European and international networks, Med Cable is designed to enable future extensions towards the east and west of the Mediterranean basin.

Alcatel