Marconi signs Italian optical network deal

NEWS Marconi has signed a deal with Italy's Omnitel Vodafone to build a 10,000km optical network. The network, built using SDH and DWDM optical networking technology, will go live in a few months. Despite its recent misfortunes, Marconi is still a world-leading company in the SDH and DWDM fields, though it is less strong in next-generation IP-based networking technologies, which are expected to become the dominant standards over the next few years. This is the company's first big optical contract win since the disposal of its optical components business to Bookham Technology. It was not specified whether Marconi will purchase optical components for the Omnitel deal from Bookham.