Africa ONE, a major independent telecommunication network that will link the countries of Africa to one another and to growing global broadband telecommunication networks, was announced today by S. G. Fassoulis, chairman, Africa ONE, Ltd.
Africa ONE, Ltd., owned by Columbia Technologies of New Jersey and organized under the laws of Liberia with agency operations in New York City, will develop and own the state-of-the-art undersea fiber optic system. Lucent Technologies has been selected as the preferred equipment and software supplier for the network. Lucent will provide technical support and project resources. This arrangement has a potential value of up to $250 million to Lucent, subject to the execution of a definitive contract by the parties.
Subsidiaries of Global Crossing Ltd. will be awarded contracts valued in excess of $100 million to provide project management and undersea construction.
"The system will fully integrate the African continent into the global broadband telecommunications network," said Fassoulis. "Africa ONE will provide state-of-the-art connectivity for the entire African continent, at low cost and with unparalleled reliability."
Africa ONE will form a self-healing ring around the continent of Africa and will connect more than two dozen coastal-country landing points. Countries without landing points, including interior countries, will use terrestrial fiber, microwave, or satellite facilities to connect to Africa ONE. It is a $1.6 billion project with an anticipated completion date of 2002.
Lucent expects to supply its WaveStar(TM) OLS 80G, a Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) system transmitting up to 40 gigabits of information per second, and approximately 39,000 kilometers of its TrueWave(R) undersea fiber optic cable.
"The telecommunications sector in Africa is developing rapidly, and demand for broadband connectivity with the countries of Africa is fueling that development," Mr. Fassoulis said today. "Deregulation, privatization, competition and regulatory reform throughout Africa are creating a robust telecommunications environment, and demand for new services, especially the Internet, is growing tremendously. Africa ONE will save hundreds of millions of dollars in transit fees now being paid by African carriers to complete calls via Europe."
"The system will facilitate trade and investment in Africa, and be the engine that drives the African Renaissance for the new Millennium for the entire continent," said Joseph C. Ceva, President of Africa ONE, Ltd. "Africa ONE, Ltd. is delighted to have the support of two truly world-class companies, Lucent Technologies and Global Crossing, Ltd. Together these companies represent expertise and experience in undersea fiber optic cable technologies unequaled in the world today."
Lucent will provide technical support and resources for the overall design and configuration of the system.
"Africa ONE is an exciting project in a market that is ready to grow dramatically," said Harry Bosco, chief operating officer of Lucent`s Optical Networking Group. "This is a great example of how Lucent`s optical networking products are changing the way the world thinks about communications. We`re pleased to be working with Africa ONE and Global Crossing to bring a new level of service to this continent."
The contract is expected to provide more than $100 million in revenue for Global Crossing for the provision of marine operations and to act as project manager, overseeing construction, installation, and implementation of the system. The new marine fleet that Global Crossing will purchase from Cable & Wireless, in a deal expected to close this month, will handle marine operations for the Africa ONE project.
Global Crossing subsidiaries will be paid in cash and/or in capacity on the Africa ONE system, at the option of Global Crossing. Although neither an investor nor an owner of Africa ONE, Global Crossing will integrate the capacity it receives from the system into the Global Crossing Network. The link-up will provide end-to-end connectivity for the African continent to 19 countries and 185 cities around the world.
"Global Crossing will be working closely with Lucent on Africa ONE to build an infrastructure project of vital importance to the African continent, with state-of-the-art advanced technology and world-scale capacity," said William B. Carter, President of Global Crossing Development Co. "The Africa ONE system will be transformational in the lives of the people of Africa that it serves."
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