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Xtera Communications secures contract to upgrade transatlantic cable

Published: 15:26 27 Oct 2009 GMT

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Xtera Communications Inc has been awarded a contract to upgrade the transatlantic Columbus III Cable system between Hollywood, Florida and Lisbon, Portugal.

The consortium parties participating in the upgrade are AT&T (NYSE: T), Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT), TATA Communications (NYSE: TCL), Telkom SA Limited (NYSE: TKG) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). The Xtera Group is privately owned between several private equity groups including J.P. Morgan Partners, Berkeley International Capital Corporation and CenterPoint Ventures.


Xtera Communications specializes in network infrastructure that delivers the highest capacity, reach and density. Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of optical transport solutions for long-haul, regional, metropolitan and sub-sea networks, and WAN traffic management solutions for both enterprise and telecom companies.


The Xtera Group is privately owned between several private equity groups including J.P. Morgan Partners, Berkeley International Capital Corporation and CenterPoint Ventures.


The Columbus III network was originally connected in December 1999, linking Portugal, Spain, Italy and the United States. The upgraded cable will significantly increase the capacity between the United States and Portugal initially to 160 gigabits per second (Gbit/s), improving service to other countries, such as Africa. The system can accommodate up to 320 Gbit/s with potential to grow further.


The work and acceptance testing was completed in September and the system is now ready to be placed in service, with Xtera's advanced 20 Gbit/s Differential Phase Shift Key (DPSK) Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE), offering a significant increase in capacity as well as headroom for future growth.


Xtera's submarine upgrade solution, the NXT system, is highly optimized for operation on existing submarine cables. It offers advanced monitoring capabilities, including monitoring existing submerged repeaters supporting fault detection in the existing plant. Xtera's NXT system uses 20 Gbit/s DPSK (Differential Phase Shift Keying) which greatly increases capacity in existing fiber, while being completely compatible with the existing repeaters and other equipment.


The NXT system also incorporates low power consumption, high reliability sealed clam-shell circuit packs, and NEBS Zone 4 earthquake compliance.

Xtera CEO, Jon Hopper commented on the new upgrade contract:


"The Columbus III system spans 7500 km -- more than any other Trans-Atlantic link -- and it is a major accomplishment to provide an N x 20 Gbit/s solution on line plant originally designed for only 8 x 2.5
Gbit/s,"

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