Alcatel Breaks World Record in Deep-Sea Cable Repairs

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 23, 2003–Alcatel (NYSE:ALA), world leader in optical networking, has successfully completed a fiber optic cable repair in water depths close to 9400 meters — breaking the world record for deep-sea cable repair operations.

The Alcatel operated cable ship, C.S Heimdal, completed the fiber optic cable repair approximately 700 km off the coast of Japan on a transpacific cable system connecting Japan to the U.S. continent. Because of the extreme water depths involved, Alcatel created a special grapnel to avoid the cable breaking under its own weight as the cable was raised from the seabed for repair.

Based in Japan and fully mobilized with remotely operated vehicles, the C.S. Heimdal vessel enables Alcatel to help its customers respond to potential cable outages within 12 hours.

“This achievement positions Alcatel as a premier wet maintenance service provider under extreme conditions such as rough volcanic terrain and steep slopes in water depths of up to 9400 meters,” said Jean Godeluck, president of Alcatel’s undersea activity. “Building on more than 150 years of experience in the undersea cable business, Alcatel is committed to further enhance its service offering and offer its customers the highest level of expertise.”

Alcatel is the worldwide leader of the undersea cable market(1) and has deployed more than 450,000 km of undersea networks — 11 times the circumnavigation of the globe — stretching from Europe to Japan, along the length of the Americas and across the Pacific Ocean.

(1) according to RHK’s 1Q 2003 report

About Alcatel

Alcatel provides end-to-end communications solutions, enabling carriers, service providers and enterprises to deliver content to any type of user, anywhere in the world. Leveraging its long-term leadership in telecommunications network equipment as well as its expertise in applications and network services, Alcatel enables its customers to focus on optimizing their service offerings and revenue streams. With sales of Euro 16.5 billion in 2002, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, http://www.alcatel.com.