Marconi Spreads Cologne

LONDON -- Marconi is to extend the NetCologne optical network of Cologne in Germany beyond the city limits to cover four million potential new customers and will provide 24-hour, on-site back up for the entire system.The contract, an extension to a long-standing frame agreement, is worth up to £6 million, and brings NetCologne's spend with Marconi over the last five years to nearly £24 million. Under the latest extension to the frame contract, Marconi will install arrays of its ONU 400, ONU 200 and ONU 32 Optical Networks Units as well as network gateways and controllers Management of the entire system, which now contains over 700 optical network elements, will remain under the control of Marconi's NSU management system. NetCologne's subscribers are hooked up to the network by a mixture of fibre to the office and fibre to the kerbside, depending on their size.

Commenting on the arrangement, Marconi Germany Managing Director Jűrgen Beer, said: "I believe that these supply, install, commission and maintenance contracts will become more prevalent as new-generation telcos enter the market. Our technical expertise and tight cost controls allow our customers to concentrate on their service offering, marketing, and customer services."

http://www.marconi.com