PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA), the worldleader in optical networking, was awarded a US$ 33 million contract by theSAT-3/WASC consortium to upgrade SAT-3/WASC DWDM submarine cable system at10Gbit/s. Thus, an "express route" will be created between Portugal andSouth Africa, ensuring a high capacity connection between Europe andAfrica. Alcatel will supply all the submarine and terrestrial opticalterminals for this upgrade. The installation and commissioning will becompleted and operational by 1Q2003.The upgrade will add one wavelength at 10Gbit/s on a single fiber pairbetween Portugal and the Republic of South Africa, according to the networkarchitecture. The system is designed to support four wavelengths at2.5Gbit/s, connecting all the concerned countries in the Western coast ofAfrica (refer to map) and five wavelengths at 10Gbit/s between Portugal andSouth Africa. The first connection responds to regional telecom needs forboth voice and data while the second one implements a high speed linkbetween Europe and Africa. Furthermore, it can play the role of restorationfor other submarine systems around Africa, thanks to the variousinterconnections between them.“We are very pleased to benefit from this fast upgrade implementationability ensured by Alcatel," said Kobus Stoeder, Chairman, SAT-3/WASCconsortium. “No sooner has the network been lit up that we need to upgradeit, showing its sustained development as soon as the capacity is available.Furthermore, it proves that SAT-3/WASC occupies a key position within theworld-wide web: its route being ideally located, it can easily be used as asecure and fast back up solution for other networks.”Alcatel SA