[London, ENGLAND] IP-based fiber optic network builder
Global Crossing has announced the completion of its
Scandinavian ring connecting Denmark, Sweden and Norway
to Europe, North and South America and Asia.
The 2,150 route kilometer ring is the first of its
kind to link these countries together. It will
significantly speed communications between the
Nordic region and the rest of the world.
Carl Grivner, chief executive for Global Crossing EMEA,
said the opening of the Nordic ring is a major step
towards early completion of Europe’s biggest broadband
platform.
“The next priority is to build on our existing city
networks in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and Milan
by expanding into Brussels, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin,
Hamburg, Madrid and Zurich over the course of 2001,” said
Grivner.
Global Crossing has been making rapid progress with its
massive European project, having recently opened its
so-called Southern ring two months ahead of schedule.
The Southern ring connects Zurich, Milan, Turin, Marseilles
and Lyon, completing the loop through Paris and Strasbourg.
A dramatic increase in the connectivity between Scandinavia
and the rest of the world could add substantially to
international Internet traffic. Scandinavians are among
the most sophisticated and frequent users of the Internet —
and they are constantly demanding faster access.
As a consequence there is a high demand for secure access
to broadband communication capacity in Scandinavia, a demand
that will quickly take up some of the initial capacity of
the new network. Global Crossing’s ring, with its 48 G.655
fibers, will operate at 10 Gbit/s, providing capacity for
handling nearly 5 million simultaneous telephone calls per
fiber pair.
One of Global Crossing’s last phases in Europe will be
commissioning the Spanish ring, intended to connect
Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilboa with the rest of
Europe.
By mid-2001, the whole Global Crossing network will
stretch 100,000 route miles across five continents, 27
countries, and more than 200 major cities.
