Marconi sells second optical system in Korea

Marconi, with the help of local partner Yukyung Telecom, has sold its second high-speed broadband optical transmission system in Korea. Under the terms of a multi-million contract, Marconi will supply Powercomm, a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Company with the means to keep pace with the burgeoning demand for high-speed internet access and data transmission. Marconi is also supplying the know-how and training to install and maintain the network.

Offering data transmission speeds of up to 155Mb/sec (STM-1), Marconi`s equipment will put Powercomm in the forefront of the Internet revolution taking place in the country. The deal with Powercomm comes only four months after the sale of a similar system to another Korean operator by Marconi.

Yudan Jin, President, Asia Pacific, Marconi Communications, said: "The sale of a second high-performance Osiris platform to a leading Korean operator inside six months, is proof that Marconi is the supplier of choice when it comes to leading-edge technology, particularly in regions where demand for high-speed services is growing exponentially. The contract also means Powercomm will be able to deliver broadband services of the highest quality and speed to its customers, while benefiting from the cost-effectiveness, low maintenance and flexibility Osiris has to offer."

The MAS SDH transmission platform is specifically designed for the rapidly expanding broadband access market. It supports full remote configuration, administration and network management of all features. This means upgrades and new services can be provisioned remotely as required, which in conjunction with the system`s low-spares requirement, makes for considerable cost savings in maintenance and new service roll-out. Deployment costs can also be cut by virtue of the SDH Path Switched rings offered by MAS. Apart from providing inherent resiliency, the feature also reduces the total number of fibre miles needed to support a number of different locations. MAS also provides tributary interfaces such as T1/E1, V.35, DS3 and Ethernet, something which no other transmission system is currently able to offer.

The South Korean optical transmission market for 1999 is thought to be worth around USD400 million, with an expected growth rate of between 100% and 200% this year alone. An estimated 20% of the country`s 47 million population are currently connected to the internet, a figure which is expected to show double digit growth this year.