Vodafone Italy Picks Marconi

LONDON -- Marconi Corporation plc (London: MONI and NASDAQ: MRCIY) today announced the successful deployment of two optical line systems from the Italian mainland to the island of Sardinia for Vodafone Italy, the Italian mobile operator controlled by the Vodafone Group.

Vodafone Italy has deployed two links using Marconi’s Multihaul 3000 photonic technology. The links have been specifically customised for submarine installations and will connect Sardinia’s transport network to the rest of Italy. The first of the two links, which has been operational since May 2005, connects Civitavecchia, Lazio, to Olbia, Sardinia, over a distance of more than 280 km.

The second link connects Cagliari, Sardinia, to Mazara del Vallo, Sicily, over a distance of more than 370 km and was activated at the end of June 2005. The second link represents an important success for Marconi because it is a technological world first in terms of length and attenuation over a single span with non-amplified passive fibre, thus eliminating the need for costly regeneration.

The two optical links will allow Vodafone Italy to activate the necessary bandwidth to develop its 3rd generation mobile network on the island. Vodafone Italy has built its entire optical network using Marconi’s technology, with this latest deployment enabling the customer to further improve its reliability with enhanced protection in its network.

The two optical line systems will be managed by Marconi's ServiceOn network management system, which is already installed in the Vodafone Italy network. By utilising this existing deployment of ServiceOn, the customer has been able minimise its capital expenditure.

The Multihaul 3000 improves an operator’s business planning, offering low first-in costs and minimal incremental investment as the network expands to accommodate new services. Multihaul 3000 modular building-block design efficiently supports core as well as metro access applications, resulting in reduced network complexity and cost of ownership.

”Once again our technology proves to be at the forefront of innovation, whilst remaining competitive at an international level,” said Giorgio Bertolina, managing director of Southern Europe and Central & Latin America for Marconi. “The introduction of the Multihaul 3000 platform in the Vodafone Italy network follows the contracts Marconi have signed with Telefonica and T-Com, confirming the equipment’s flexibility and versatility in different customer scenarios.”

Vodafone Group plc