Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd. Signs $93 Million Supply

Contract and $50 Million O,A&M Contract for Global West Network Fiber Optic Subsea Cable System Morristown, N.J. (PROTEXT) - Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd. (TSSL) announced today the signing of the supply contract for Global West, a 917km coastal festoon system connecting major cities along the West Coast of the United States from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The value of the base supply contract is approximately $93 million US dollars. Two optional segments increase the value of the supply contract by an additional $25 million US dollars. The $50 Million US dollar contract for Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) services will cover both wet and dry maintenance for the Global West subsea network. TSSL will maintain and operate the entire system including the Global West Network Management Center at One America Plaza in San Diego, California. The Global West project, sponsored by Global Photon Systems Inc. (a.k.a. Global Photon Holding Co.) is a five segment, repeaterless festoon system along the West Coast of the US that will have landing points in San Francisco, San Jose, Monterey Bay, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Los Angles. The network also includes a large self-healing SONET ring connecting San Francisco, San Jose, and Monterey; and in addition, terrestrial routes from each beach-landing into the center of each respective major city. The optional segments of the Global West System add landing points of San Diego and Tijuana. Overall sea length of the base system is 917km, with the optional segments adding another 275km. The Global West project will utilize the leading edge technology developed by TSSL Labs in addition to being installed and maintained by the TSSL ICOM division with it's world class fleet of ships and operating professionals. This project has been designed to incorporate TSSL's latest SL 12 cable with pure silica core fiber. Initial capacity will transmit at 20Gb/sec. The system will employ DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing) Technology, providing the potential for up to one full terebit/sec transmission capacity in the future, and will be equipped with Lucent WaveStar Bandwidth Manager equipment. "The Global West system is another example of the growing demands for bandwidth between countries, and in this case cities," said Neil Garvey President of TSSL. "Voice, data and broadband needs on the West Coast of the US have grown exponentially as have other business and population centers around the world. The Global West System will be able to meet the demands and needs of this region with this state of the art subsea fiber optic system." "The Global West Network is uniquely configured to provide competitive intrastate interexchange carrier services connecting the hearts of major coastal cities in California. The need for such services was documented by the Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications in Senate Bill 1148," said Tim Stamnitz, President/CEO of Global Photon. "The small diameter cable -- with no electric power -- transmits only pulses of light. About 90% of the cable will be buried into the seabed outside the 3-mile jurisdiction of the State, providing 'true route diversity' to enhance the reliability of the State's telephone system and the capability to support emergency services." Mr. Stamnitz also emphasized that Lucent's Wavestar Bandwidth Manager efficient transports voice, video, data, and internet multimedia signals encoded in several distinct protocols, including SONET, ATM, frame relay, and ITP/IP formats. Global Photon Holding Co. (f.n.a. Global Photon Systems Inc.) is a high-tech telecom start-up located at One America Plaza in downtown San Diego near the San Diego Bay. The key employees have a wealth of experience in fiber optic communications, having provided leadership in the development of both land and terrestrial systems throughout the world in the last two decades. After conducting feasibility studies for several coastal fiber optic systems in the US, they focused their attention specifically on the development of Global West. The system design, development, and planning are well advanced and network equipment manufacture, construction and installation are poised to move forward rapidly. Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tyco International Ltd., is an independent supplier of undersea communications systems and services. TSSL owns and operates a fleet of world class cable ships for the installation and maintenance of undersea communication network systems. The internationally distinguished TSSL Labs located in Eatontown, New Jersey provides leading edge fiber optic technology. The completely integrated manufacturing capabilities of TSSL are highlighted by cable, repeater and transmission equipment manufacturing facilities located in New Hampshire, New Jersey and Virginia. TSSL has combined these capabilities to successfully complete 85 undersea fiber optic networks, in excess of 350,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable connecting over 100 countries. For more information on TSSL or Tyco International please visit the websites listed below. Tyco International: http://www.tycoint.com TSSL: http://www.submarinesystems.com Global Photon: http://www.globalphoton.com ots Original Text Service: Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Jim Brennan of Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd., (USA) 973-656-8124, jbrennan@submarinesystems.com Web site: http://www.submarinesystems.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. 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