Working its way around the world

Teleglobe Communications announced last week that it will invest $5 billion over five years to build an integrated Internet, voice, data and video network. The completed network will link 160 major markets worldwide.

The network, GlobeSystem, is based on directly fusing optical wavelengths to routers and asynchronous transfer mode platforms. Running ATM and Internet protocol traffic directly over the fiber simplifies the network, said Charles Sirois, chairman and CEO of Teleglobe.

GlobeSystem will use technology that places 160 wavelengths over a single fiber, boosting the network capacity up to 180 times, said Sirois. "By meshing wavelengths we not only achieve lower cost but raise capacity," he said.

GlobeCity nodes will be placed in 160 cities to handle regional distribution of GlobeSystem services. The company already has 27 GlobeCity nodes in operation, and plans to deploy another 20 within the next 12 months. Also, an additional 200,000 route-miles of fiber will be laid, giving the company a total of 400,000 route-miles.

Many other carriers have already gotten into the integrated communications game, but this relatively late entry should not affect Teleglobe,said Jeanne Schaaf, senior analyst with Forester Research. "[Companies] are still building out. They're still putting undersea fiber in place," she said.

Besides, other carriers are trying to retrofit older legacy networks, which may create problems. "What is new for Teleglobe is that it is a green field build," Schaaf said.

Teleglobe has divided its project into two phases. During the first phase-currently underway-the company is deploying equipment throughout the Northeast to link New York, Toronto and Montreal, among other cities. It has also deployed fiber linking the northwestern U.S. with Canada. In addition, the company plans to upgrade its North American Internet backbone to OC-192 (9.6 Gb/s) status by forth quarter 1999.

In Europe, Teleglobe is creating a fiber ring, based on the same 160-wavelength technology. The ring will connect London, Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium, and Paris. Currently in development is a second ring connecting Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Spain.

The second project phase calls for Teleglobe to deploy a next generation transAtlantic fiber optic network system. The company will also expand in the Asia-Pacific region and establish a networking hub in Guam.