NAARDEN, Netherlands, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global Crossing today announced it has been awarded the contract to support Belgacom International Carrier Services (Belgacom ICS) to consolidate and upgrade its pan-European network. This follows the formation in 2005 of a joint venture between the Belgian and Swiss incumbents, Belgacom SA and Swisscom Fixnet AG, to combine their international carrier businesses. Belgacom ICS is headquartered in Brussels and has offices in Bern, New York, Singapore and Dubai.
Under the terms of this field activity contract, Global Crossing will support the consolidation of Belgacom ICS' existing infrastructure in continental Europe and the UK through the provision of network infrastructure, creating the foundation for a 40-Gbps capable European backbone. Global Crossing will provide 3,000 km of dark fibre and associated colocation space connecting 36 major points of presence in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Germany, as well as wavelengths on routes that are geographically dispersed from Belgacom ICS' network.
Global Crossing will also take charge of decommissioning existing optical transmission equipment and manage the installation of Siemens' 40-Gbps compatible Surpass 7500 optical add-drop multiplexers (OADM). It is the first European-wide installation of state-of-the-art reconfigurable (R) OADM systems. The contract calls for the support of migration of services from the legacy network to the new Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) backbone and the provision of power supplies, cable preparation, collocation facilities, installation of racks and transmission equipment, and overall consultancy and project management.
"In building our own global network from the ground up, we have developed exceptional expertise in every aspect of design, installation and management of high-speed optical networks to achieve consistent performance at 99.999 percent availability," said Pieter Duijves, European managing director, Global Crossing. "It's a logical step to commercialize the skills of our field operations team and the reach and depth of our network to other carriers wanting to expand their international footprint."
Belgacom ICS has already started migrating services, and the new backbone is now fully operational. Gert Nieveld, director responsible for Global Crossing's operations support solutions, explains that it is the vast expertise of Global Crossing's field operations organization, combined with its geographic reach across Europe, that enables Belgacom ICS and Siemens to deploy the new (R)OADM technology within such a short timeframe.
Commenting on the agreement, Daniel Kurgan, COO of Belgacom ICS, said: "This is an important step in realising the benefits of harmonising the international network assets of Belgacom and Swisscom and positioning the combined entity to become a greater force in the international wholesale segment."
As Belgacom ICS is an existing customer of Global Crossing, much of the new (R)OADM transmission equipment will be housed in Global Crossing's points of presence. Global Crossing has a team of 110 field engineers supporting the 13,000-km UK backbone and the 30,000-km pan-European network linking 106 cities across 15 countries.
The increased scale of Belgacom ICS' international network will help the joint venture capitalise on its strengths as the eighth largest international wholesale voice provider, while reinforcing offerings that address the voice, data and capacity needs of mobile operators and service providers around the world.
ABOUT BELGACOM ICS
Belgacom ICS is a leading global carrier of voice, data and value added services to over 400 wireless, wireline and service providers through sales offices in Brussels, Bern, Dubai, Singapore and New York. In the past three years, Belgacom ICS has transformed itself from a regional size single product organisation into a leading player through a visionary strategy of consolidation, capital investment in next-generation IP infrastructure, and strategic supply relationships to mobile operators with the Global Mobile Village(TM) product portfolio.
ABOUT GLOBAL CROSSING
Global Crossing provides telecommunications solutions over the world's first integrated global IP-based network. Its core network connects more than 300 cities in 29 countries worldwide, and delivers services to more than 600 cities in 60 countries and 6 continents around the globe. The company's global sales and support model matches the network footprint and, like the network, delivers a consistent customer experience worldwide.
Global Crossing IP services are global in scale, linking the world's enterprises, governments and carriers with customers, employees and partners worldwide in a secure environment that is ideally suited for IP-based business applications, allowing e-commerce to thrive. The company offers a full range of managed data and voice products including Global Crossing IP VPN Service, Global Crossing Managed Solutions and Global Crossing VoIP services, to 36 percent of the Fortune 500, as well as 700 carriers, mobile operators and ISPs.
Please visit http://www.globalcrossing.com/ or http://blogspot.globalcrossing.com/ for more information about Global Crossing.
Statements in this press release about expected future events and financial results are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially, including risks referenced from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Global Crossing undertakes no duty to update information contained in this press release or in other public disclosures at any time.
CONTACT GLOBAL CROSSING:
Press Contact
Amjad Khan
Europe
+ 44 (0) 1256 732 866
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