TyCom completes transatlantic fiber network

Tyco International subsidiary TyCom announced today the completion of the transatlantic segment of its global fiber network, which—with capacity of 2.56 Tb/s—is the highest capacity pipe to cross the Atlantic to date, according to the company.

Set up in four-fiber-pair rings, the transatlantic segment carries 64 10 Gb/s wavelengths, linking New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. The fiber is now in its final testing phases, but TyCom officials said it would open the network for commercial traffic by the end of the month.

The company has already announced one $82 million contract with Dishnet DDSL, but TyCom Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing Brian Roussell said several other customers are lined up. TyCom anticipates no problem in selling off the segment’s entire capacity in three to four years.

The announcement marks TyCom’s entrance into the transport business, a deviation from its usual role of network supplier, but Roussell said the high demand for transoceanic transport made the market ripe for TyCom’s entrance. The transatlantic segment is the first step in the development of the TyCom Global Network (TGN), a two-phase network of fiber rings that ultimately will span 250,000 undersea kilometers and providing 7.68 Tb/s capacity in high traffic areas.

The first phase, estimated for completion in 2002, will increase capacity over the Atlantic and create a transpacific segment, linking 30 cities with 90,000 km of undersea fiber. TyCom plans to build and maintain most of the network itself with its fleet of cable ships, supplementing its footprint by leasing capacity or buying fiber in already overbuilt regions.

While there are many companies in the global transport business, Roussell believes TGN has a distinct advantage because of its relationship to TyCom and manufacturing behemoth Tyco.

“We have the financial wherewithal not only to announce, but complete a global network,” he explained. “There are a couple of other systems coming on line, but [TyCom’s] has a lot more financial stability. … Large carriers are in a situation where they have to place their investments in companies they know will remain in business.”

Roussell added that TyCom would be quick to deploy the rest of its global network, allowing it to offer complete global connectivity in the next two years.