May 8, 2009 -- Portugal Telecom and Corning Inc. announced an agreement to work together to develop, test, and implement Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology platforms for next-generation access (NGA) fiber optic networks in Portugal.
Portugal Telecom recently signed an agreement with the Portuguese government and other telecommunications providers to develop a fiber optic network in the country. The goal is to enable access to next-generation services such as true high-speed Internet, voice, and HDTV based on a new network for up to 1.5 million Portuguese.
"Our main goal is to offer high-quality and cost-competitive services based on innovative and reliable fiber-based solutions," says Zeinal Bava, Portugal Telecom's chief executive officer. "To give our customers, both residential and corporate, the best services in the marketplace, we are establishing a number of leading edge partnerships. Corning Incorporated is the world-leading supplier of fiber-based solutions, with a strong commitement to R&D, and thus we believe will add significant value for this great undertaking we are preparing to enter."
Corning will utilize its ClearCurve product suite optimized for the European market in the Portugal Telecom deployment. The product suite is enabled by ClearCurve fiber which Corning contends is hundreds of times more bendable than standard single-mode fiber. Featuring Corning's proprietary nanostructures technology, the ClearCurve optical fiber can be bent around very tight corners with virtually no signal loss while maintaining backward compatibility with the installed base of optical fiber. This fiber enables the construction of rugged drop cables for multi-dwelling units which can be pulled through wall studs, stapled to wood and otherwise handled like copper communications cables. It also enables hardware and equipment for fiber optic networks that is smaller and more aesthetically pleasing.
"Portugal Telecom's fiber-to-the-home investment demonstrates their technical leadership and their commitment to providing leading-edge technology solutions to customers," says Wendell P. Weeks, chairman and chief executive officer of Corning Incorporated. "We are extremely pleased and excited to be working closely with Portugal Telecom in building a next-generation fiber-optic-based solution. This optical fiber technology will allow Internet users high-speed broadband access that will provide the true high definition and 3D interactive television experiences which will be demanded in the future."
On the Web:
www.corning.com
www.telecom.pt