Unitirreno Announces Contract-in-Force For New Subsea Cable System in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Supply agreement has been signed and contract is in force
to construct the first Open Cable system in the Mediterranean

ROMA, Italy - Feb. 1, 2023 - PRLog -- Unitirreno Submarine Network S.p.A. (Unitirreno) today announced Contract-in-Force (CIF) for the construction of its new optical fiber submarine cable system in the Tyrrhenian Sea.  The approximately 1,030 kilometers system will connect Mazara del Vallo to Genoa (890km) and will have a branch to Rome (140km). The construction of the new network is entrusted to Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) for system manufacturing and Elettra Tlc S.p.A. for marine survey and installation services. This will be the first repeatered 24-pair fiber optic Open Cable system in the Mediterranean region built on leading edge technology to meet increasing broadband requirements in the region. Elettra will initiate survey operations during this quarter and the manufacturing of the cable and equipment has been scheduled by ASN.  The new system is scheduled to be ready for service by Q2 2025.

The Unitirreno cable system will offer an important alternative route into Europe through the Mediterranean, bypassing the region's key landing point in Marseille.  It will create crucial levels of diversity and redundancy for intercontinental, regional and domestic network operators as well as cloud and content providers. In collaboration with network infrastructure partners, Unitirreno will seamlessly connect from Genoa to Italy's main data center hub in Milan, offering an express subsea route to the emerging data center hub in the Rome region. The system will also support ongoing development of Italy's digital ecosystem in Rome, Genoa and other cities which are seeing substantial growth in investments toward new data center construction projects.

At 20Tbps per fiber pair, the system's total capacity will be 480 Tbps on the trunk route and 320 Tbps on the branch to Rome-Fiumicino. Unitirreno will feature state-of-the-art subsea fiber optic technology in an open cable system structure which will allow customers to select their preferred technology solution for individual fiber pairs. The system will also include two stubbed branching units to facilitate future landings in Sardinia and Palermo.

Unitirreno is owned through a special purpose vehicle which includes Unidata S.p.A. (EGM: UD, Unidata), operator of Telecommunications, Cloud and IoT services; the Infrastructure Fund for ESG Growth (IPC Fund) of Azimut Libera Impresa SGR, whose investment activities are focused on strategic and high-growth infrastructure companies; and a team of senior telecom executives who will manage the company's commercial and operational activities.

Renato Brunetti, President and CEO of Unitirreno Submarine Network S.p.A. said, "We are delighted to create such a grandiose project which will strengthen the development of the Italian digital infrastructure, allowing us to be an alternative to the current hub of Marseille and provide strategic landing points for requirements from Asia and Africa. Unitirreno, connecting Sicily with the capital by sea and with Northern Italy, will deliver additional connectivity and further enhance key synergies between Rome-Fiumicino and the green data center that Unidata and Azimut Libera Impresa SGR will build on the same site."

Chris van Zinnicq Bergmann, CCO of Unitirreno said, "We look forward to working with ASN and Elettra towards delivering the new Unitirreno cable system with latest optical technologies to meet growing connectivity demands, driven by video, cloud and other bandwidth intensive requirements. The new infrastructure will be an eagerly anticipated option for the rapidly growing domestic and global bandwidth mandates." www.unitirreno.com

VENDOR QUOTES:
Paul Gabla, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of ASN said, "We are thankful to Unitirreno and their industrial and financial partners to have selected ASN for their submarine network development. ASN's state-of-the-art technology, delivered in cooperation with Elettra to the highest standards, will provide much needed additional capacity and connectivity in the Mediterranean."  www.asn.com

Didier Dillard, President and CEO of Elettra said, "Elettra is very pleased to have been selected by Unitirreno for the implementation of this new cable system, which will be the most powerful subsea system in the Mediterranean for the coming years. With our marine base in Catania and our long experience of fiber optic cables survey, installation and repair in the Mediterranean, we are probably the best positioned cable ships operator to carry out this exciting project."  www.elettratlc.it

Media Contact
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info@elettratlc.it
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