AT&T turns up international service on first transatlantic fiber optic ring network.SHIRLEY Shir·ley , William 1694-1771. British colonial administrator who was governor of Massachusetts (1741-1749 and 1753-1756) and commanded British forces in the French and Indian War. , L.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1996--The first upgradable transatlantic undersea cable network goes into service this week, offering twice the transmission capacity of current transatlantic fiber optic systems. AT&T is the largest owner of this network with more than 20 percent stake. The TAT-12/13 Cable Network was completed this month to connect the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , the United Kingdom and France. The network is the first in the world to feature a closed-ring configuration that offers self-healing capabilities. In the event of a cable break, the network will automatically restore itself without losing a call. The 12,400-kilometer network is also the longest transatlantic undersea fiber link. It lands in Shirley, L.I., and Greenhill, R.I. in the U.S., Lands End in the U.K. and Penmarch in France. "The technology used in this network can transmit To send data over a communications line. See transfer. today at least 300,000 simultaneous voice, video or data transmission," said Thomas McInerney Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney, USAF (Ret.), is director of NetStar Systems, and a Fox News pundit. He advocates military-led regime change in Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and Syria, and is a member of the Iran Policy Committee. , managing director of AT&T's International Cable Management. "The network's expandable capabilities and its exceptional reliability make TAT-12/13 ideal for international multimedia and advanced mission-critical applications," said McInerney. The TAT-12/13 Cable Network uses two pairs of fibers and optical amplifiers A device that boosts light signals in an optical fiber network. Unlike regenerators, which have to convert light to electricity in order to amplify it and then convert it back again to light, the optical amplifier amplifies the light signal itself. to transmit up to 10 gigabits of signals per second. In addition, thanks to the wavelength division multiplexing See WDM. (communications) wavelength division multiplexing - (WDM) Multiplexing several Optical Carrier n signals on a single optical fibre by using different wavelengths (colours) of laser light to carry different signals. and forward error correction A communications technique that can correct bad data on the receiving end. Before transmission, the data are processed through an algorithm that adds extra bits for error correction. If the transmitted message is received in error, the correction bits are used to repair it. technologies, the system can later be upgraded to support transmission of up to 20 gigabits per second. Construction of the TAT-12/13 Cable Network started in 1993 and was completed at a cost of US$700 million to more than 75 telecommunications Communicating information, including data, text, pictures, voice and video over long distance. See communications. carriers from 55 countries. The TAT-12 portion of the network, which was completed last October, connects U.S. landing points to the U.K. and France. The second leg of the system, known as TAT-13, completes the cable ring by connecting Penmarch, France back to the United States. AT&T is a global information movement and management company providing communications services to more than 200 countries and territories around the world. AT&T is the world's largest investor of undersea networks, with ownership in more than 60 undersea cable systems worldwide, including five transatlantic undersea systems. CONTACT: Patricia Sieh, AT&T Dianne Bernez,AT&T (908) 221- 7473 work (908) 221-6367 work (908) 771-9067 home (201) 606-9148 home |
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