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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Alcatel Submarine Networks UK Ltd
Manufacturing robot manipulating equipment during the build process
Ile De Batz on a cable laying mission
ASN repeaters stacked and ready for integration
Alcatel Submarine Networks UK (ASN) is an organisation steeped in history, with a legacy of being a leader and innovator in the submerged communications cable industry. ASN in one form or another has been based in Greenwich for over 170 years, and has been a key manufacturer of subsea telecoms equipments during this time. It manufactured the first successful transatlantic cable laid in 1858 and the transatlantic cable laid by the SS Great Eastern in 1866. Submarine cable networks connect most of the world’s population, businesses and institutions. Lying on ocean floors, these systems carry the responsibility for our international communications and data. They form the critical infrastructure backbone for the data centres powering the world wide web. Global connections The world has improved significantly from the first telegraph line in the 1860s where transmitting a single character took on average
just over two minutes, whereas now we can send large messages to movies nearly instantaneously anywhere in the world. Today, optical fibre represents the main channel of communications to connect continents around the globe. Submarine cable systems currently carry more than 95% of the worldwide broadband traffic – data, voice and video enabling your connected life to occur instantaneously. ASN continues to evolve and develop the next generation of innovative transmission technology to remain at the forefront of today’s global backbone network providers. Today, ASN leads the industry in terms of transmission capacity and installed base with more than 700,000 km of optical submarine systems deployed worldwide, enough to circumnavigate the globe 17 times. In 2022, ASN forecasts it will break its internal cable laying record of 33,000km of submarine cable installed, by laying over 45,000km – enough to circumnavigate the globe. ASN provides the core equipment for global undersea transmission systems, which are tailored to its customer’s needs (telecoms and GAFAM). These systems that ASN has installed span several geographic regions: North and South America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australia, each linking several continents and regions. Fulfilling demand As the world transitions from connecting people with voice traffic to connecting machines with the associated rapid expansion of data transmission, ASN is continuing to invest in the Greenwich site to
ensure this demand can be fulfilled. The trend of increasing demand is driven by global 5G deployment and the Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, and data centre connectivity. The Covid crisis also contributed, as the world’s workforce connected remotely – enabled by submerged communication cable technology. Traffic is expected to continue growing as the world continues to connect to the internet and demands higher bandwidth. Continuously evolving, submarine optical technology is the optimal solution to address the traffic growth as these systems have a 25-year lifespan and offer superior reliability, latency and performance compared to satellite transmission. The Greenwich site comprises of a modern state of the art Clean Room Manufacturing facility and all the relevant support functions from Purchasing, Legal, Project Management, Industrial Engineering, R&D and Marine management activities. It is an exceptional company, which can boast a global reach whilst maintaining strong historic links within the Greenwich borough and offering a wide range of careers. ASN’s global market share is currently over 33% meaning ASN is the number one provider in this industry. Its exports increased over three years by a total of 118.4% ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS UK LTD Telegraph House, 10 Telcon Way, Greenwich, London SE10 0AG Tel: 020 8465 1500 • communications@asn.com www.asn.com @ASN_comm asn-comm
The Greenwich site
Queen’s Awards Magazine 2022
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