FLAG Telecom
Global Transmission Network Overview
Connecting Continents. Connecting Cultures
FLAG Telecom Ltd.
Commercial In Confidence
www.flagtelecom.com
Contents
Introduction; Our global fibre-optic / SDH network
Architecture & key features
Performance
FLAG constructed network systems
FLAG purchased network systems
Reliance India network
Metro rings and extended reach
VPoPs
FLAG transmission services
Operations and service management
FLAG global MPLS/IP network & peering
www.flagtelecom.com
1
Introduction
FLAG Telecom is a leading provider of international network transport, connectivity and data
services to the wholesale communications & Internet communities
Our services are delivered over an extensive fibre-optic and MPLS based IP network that
we own and manage
The network fully encircles the globe, connecting key markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle
East and the USA
•
This network touches over 75% of the world’s population
The network seamlessly connects several submarine and terrestrial cable systems
•
Incorporating self-built and purchased facilities across Europe, Mediterranean, Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean, South
China Sea, Pacific, North America and Atlantic
FLAG’s transmission services provide the foundations underpinning the networks of many of
the world’s largest carriers and Internet operators
www.flagtelecom.com
2
Our global fibre-optic / SDH network
A high-speed, highly reliable network that fully encircles the globe, providing direct coverage and seamless
connectivity between major global telecoms hubs, business markets and high-growth economies across four
continents
www.flagtelecom.com
3
Architecture overview
The FLAG global network is fully optical and is predominantly a submarine based network
•
Terrestrial networks are implemented to provide backhaul connectivity to domestic city nodes, and to provide
terrestrial links between submarine segments (USA, Europe, Egypt, Thailand)
It is designed, engineered and operated to provide highly reliable, scalable and cost
effective transmission
FLAG adheres to industry standards in all aspects on our network, engineering, service
delivery and operations
The network is fully SDH / SONET compatible and supports a wide range of standard
optical and electrical interfaces and speeds for customer circuits
FLAG works with leading vendors for all component elements of the network
FLAG nodes are located in key landing stations and ‘carrier hotels’ to provide ready access
to other networks
www.flagtelecom.com
4
High scalability
320 Gbps protected
(Scalable to 2.4 + 2.4 Tbps)
9.95 Gbps
62 Gbps
10 – 20 Gbps
(Upgradeable to
80 Gbps based
upon current
technology)
up to 10 Gbps
90 Gbps protected
(FALCON - planned)
(Scalable to 2.56 Tbps)
50 Gbps (FALCON - planned)
(Scalable to 1.28 Tbps)
250 Gbps
Protected
(Scalable to 1.2 +
1.92 Tbps)
The FLAG core optical backbone is scaled to satisfy inter-continental and intra-regional demand. It
effectively provides ‘bandwidth on tap’, enabling us to address both near and long term growth in demand,
and avoid over-subscription in our IP layer. Efficient capacity planning procedures actively monitor growth
trends and customer driven demand to trigger appropriate upgrades
www.flagtelecom.com
5
Route distances
FLAG Europe Network
~7,800 km
Trans-America Network
~12,400 km
FALCON (announced)
10,300 km
Trans-Pacific Network
~ 17,700 km
FLAG Atlantic 1
(FA-1)
~ 12,800 km
FLAG Europe Asia (FEA)
~ 27,000 km
FLAG North Asia Loop
(FNAL)
~ 11,000 km
The FLAG network stretches for over 97,000 kilometres (including network ‘spurs’)
www.flagtelecom.com
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Seamless global delivery
The network fully encircles the globe,
providing an on-net (east/west) backup
path for customer traffic and enabling us
to implement the most direct path
between source and destination
www.flagtelecom.com
7
Common network components
Several generic components are employed throughout the network
•
•
Specific equipment and suppliers used varies from system to system due to geographic, route distance,
volume, age and feature issues
Additional equipment is employed in specific network systems for protection and cross connect purposes
(S)LTE /
(D)WDM
Customer
Facing
Circuits
Add Drop Multiplexers in
FLAG PoPs provide the
physical interface to
customers at a range of SDH
data rates, acting as the cross
connect and termination /
configuration point for
customer circuits. They
aggregate signals onto the
line termination equipment.
Branching
Unit
Amplifier /
Repeater
ADM
Optical Fibre
Line Terminal Equipment, located
at Submarine landing stations or
terrestrial nodes, multiplex SDH
signals onto a single optical fibre
pair. They provide error
correction, alarm and supervisory
facilities. Integrated or combined
(Dense) Wavelength Division
Multiplexing facilities enable
multiple wavelengths to be
multiplexed.
Branching Units are used to
‘drop’ local optical
connections from a
submarine cable to the shore,
providing a ‘splice & joint’
function. They provide an
efficient and resilient
mechanism of deploying a
cable with multiple landing
stations, without having to
route the entire cable via the
shoreline
Amplifiers and repeaters are
employed to maintain signal strength
along the length of the fibre.
Amplifiers increase the intensity of
the laser without optical-electro
conversion. However, signal
attenuation through glass
necessitates the use of Repeaters at
regular intervals that regenerate the
original digital signal through opticalelectrical-optical conversion.
www.flagtelecom.com
8
Performance measures
A range of measures are taken to protect FLAG’s global network and to ensure highly
resilient and reliable traffic delivery
Automatic or manual protection paths are used throughout the network for protected
customer circuits
A range of common automatic protection techniques are used within specific FLAG
system components:
•
Sub Network Connection Protection (SNCP), Multiplex Section – Shared Protection Ring (MS-SPRing) or
Mutiplex Section Protection (MSP1+1) network and interface cards
FLAG is able to provide on-net east/west protection paths where appropriate
Further specific measures are taken for individual network systems
•
Including fibre diversity, SDH loops, Optical Protection Switching (OPS), span switching, dual access cards
etc.
Subsea cables follow carefully plotted routes, are extensively armoured and are buried
close to shore to minimise the impacts of natural disasters and the risk of local cuts
All PoPs are strictly engineered to ensure carrier-grade performance
•
Include all necessary cabling, access, environmental, power and security failsafes
www.flagtelecom.com
9
Long standing reputation for
outstanding quality & performance
The performance measures taken by FLAG enable us to offer best-in-class quality
FLAG overall on-net network availability was 99.997% during 2004
•
It has consistently been higher than 99.99% for over 3 years
For those rare faults encountered, average on-net ‘Mean Time to Repair’ (MTTR) for
customer service faults was 1.91 hours during 2004
•
It has consistently been lower than 4 hours for over 3 years
Average On-Net Availability (2004)
Mean Time To Repair Service Faults (2004)
5.0
100.00
4.5
4 Hour MTTR Target Level
4.0
99.998
99.996
3.0
%
Hours
3.5
99.997% Achieved Availability
2.5
99.994
1.91 Hour MTTR Achieved Level
2.0
99.992
1.5
1.0
99.99% Target Availability
99.990
0.5
0.0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May Jun
Jul
Aug Sep Oct
Nov Dec
99.988
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May Jun
Jul
Aug Sep Oct
Nov Dec
www.flagtelecom.com
10
FLAG constructed systems
FA-1
FNAL
FALCON
(under construction)
FEA
FLAG operates its network as a single global facility. However, it is constructed from a number of
interconnected systems that FLAG has either constructed or purchased. The systems shown above were
constructed by FLAG
www.flagtelecom.com
11
FLAG Europe Asia (FEA)
FEA was the world’s first independent, competitive cable system to serve the
Middle East and Asian markets. It was the first independent cable system to
land in China, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and it remains the world’s longest
privately funded undersea system
www.flagtelecom.com
12
FEA topology
Miura
(Japan)
Porthcurno
(UK)
SS1
Landing Station
Q3
A
BUx
B
BU1
Q1
Q2
Terrestrial Fibre Connection
SSx
Keoje
(Korea)
A .. Q
P3
Fibre Segment ID
Nanhui
(China)
D
Alexandria
(Egypt)
Port Said
(Egypt)
Aqaba
Jeddah
Fujairah
(Jordan) (Saudi Arabia) (UAE)
Penang
(Malaysia)
E
X1
SS8
FEA Sub-System
P2
Palermo
(Italy)
SS2
BU6
Q4
Local Route
C
SS3
Ninomiya
(Japan)
Express Route
Estepona
(Spain)
SS9
Branching Unit
P1
SS4
F3
X1
F4
SS6
SS5
H
BU5
M
X2
Songkhla
(Thailand)
South Lantau
(Hong Kong)
N
Cairo
(Egypt)
Suez
(Egypt)
F1
BU7
F2
BU2
G
BU3
J
K
Mumbai
(India)
L
BU4
Satun
Trang X2
(Thailand) (Thailand)
SS7
www.flagtelecom.com
13
FEA overview
FLAG constructed, owns and operates FEA
In-service: 1997
FEA consists of nine sub-systems, comprising a total of 25 segments
•
This identification scheme is used for construction, operations & maintenance and restoration purposes
Each sub-system comprises two or more terminal stations connected by two fibre pairs
•
Express and local fibres
‘Local’ and ‘Express’ route configuration provides efficient and high performance delivery
•
•
‘Express’ route provides a rapid path between high volume routes to minimise delivery delay for inter-continental
circuits
‘Local’ route provides a local access and intra-regional capability
WDM used to increase capacity in the system from the initial 10 Gbps capacity
•
Current technology will allow an upgrade to 80 Gbps
FEA is resiliently interconnected with FA-1 in the UK and FNAL in Hong Kong and Japan
•
•
•
UK interconnect: Porthcurno – Skewjack
Hong Kong interconnect: Tong Fuk – South Lantau
Japan interconnect: Miura - Wada
www.flagtelecom.com
14
FALCON (under construction)
A new submarine cable
system to address the
broadband demand that
exists to and from the high
growth communications
markets in the Middle East
and India
www.flagtelecom.com
15
FALCON topology (May 2005)
Manama CLS
(Bahrain)
Alcatel optical cross-connect 1678MCC
Branching Unit
Al Khobar CLS
(Saudi Arabia)
4
Branching units are placed at strategic
locations to enable future locations to be
added along the route
Jeddah
CLS
(Saudi Arabia)
6
5
Alcatel SLTE 1620LM
Kuwait CLS
Doha CLS
(Qatar)
Al Hudaydah
CLS
(Yemen)
Al Ghaydah
CLS
(Yemen)
Khasab CLS
(Oman)
3
7
2
Suez CLS
(Egypt)
Mumbai CLS
(India)
1
8 (express + local)
Al Seeb CLS
(Oman)
www.flagtelecom.com
16
FALCON system profile
Suez-Muscat-Mumbai
•
•
6,900km submarine system with 90 Gbps initial capacity
Four fibre pairs, with design capacity of 64 wavelengths per fibre pair, equalling 2.56 Tbps
Gulf Loop
•
•
Self healing 3,400km loop system with 50 Gbps initial capacity
Two fibre pairs, with design capacity of 64 wavelengths per fibre pair, equalling 1.28 Tbps
The system has been designed to enable additional ‘spurs’ to be inserted during and
post initial cable deployment
•
Branching units inserted at key locations during first lay to support other interested landing parties along the
route as their communications needs develop and grow
Further extensions under review
Advanced network engineering design
•
Comprehensive protection mechanisms (optical protection, MSP1+1, MS-Spring, SDH), equipment
redundancy built into SLTE, PFE, power etc., dual landing points wherever possible, double armoured and
buried cable where necessary
www.flagtelecom.com
17
FALCON overview (Q3 2005)
FLAG is managing the entire design, construction and operations process
Planning phase complete and route selected (Q1 / Q2 2005)
•
•
Thorough planning phase included geophysical, oceanographic, hydrodynamic (sediment, current movement) and
environmental analysis, plus an analysis of human factors such as external aggression, pipelines (oil, gas, &
sewage outfalls etc), cables (military, power & telecoms etc), commercial fisheries, dredging and shipping activities.
Marine surveys, landing site reviews and permit activities complete
Supplier contract awarded to Alcatel, a leading provider of large-scale turnkey submarine
cable projects
Implementation phase underway
•
Cable anchored in Oman and en-route to Mumbai early August 2005
Initial RFS in Q4 ‘05
Negotiations with other interested landing parties are continuing
•
Design enables spurs to be added along the cable route to match evolving local communications requirements
www.flagtelecom.com
18
Reliance Infocomm India Network
80,000 Route kms of fibre,
connecting over 1100 towns & cities
•
•
380,000 duct kms
Planned access to ~5000 towns & cities
(120,000 route kms) by end Q4 2005
Backbone, metro and building
access ring architecture
•
•
•
•
•
•
Highly resilient ring & mesh design
Cities connected on backbone rings
Backbone comprises express ring (DWDM,
40 * 10 Gbps) + collector layer (SDH)
City / metro rings have 3 or more
alternative paths
137 rings across India
Localised building access rings provide
customer access
Direct access implemented to
business premises
•
•
•
1.7 million homes & offices by 2006/7
95%+ coverage of Indian subscriber base
Fibre / cat5
Full national IP network
FLAG metro rings & extended reach
FLAG owns and operates metro rings, connecting major telehouses in the following
locations:
• London
• New York
• Paris
• Tokyo
FLAG employs leased line connectivity in other cities with more than one node (SDH / IP)
• Amsterdam
• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• Madrid
Extended reach into all other locations is performed via FLAG’s approved suppliers and
partners worldwide
www.flagtelecom.com
20
FLAG VPoP’s
FLAG has implemented virtual points of presence (VPoPs) to provide one-stop-shop
access into tightly regulated countries
•
Fully interconnected into the FLAG Telecom global network
FLAG NOC
FLAG
City PoP
End Customer
Deregulated
Country
VPoPs are fully functional nodes
implemented and operated by
FLAG Telecom, but owned by the
resident International Facilities
License (IFL) holder
FLAG VPoP
Landing
Station
End Customer
End to End Seamless Connection
Regulated
Country
FLAG VPoPs are implemented in Egypt, Pakistan and China
www.flagtelecom.com
21
Global operations & service management
Our global structure and network ownership enable us to offer effective and responsive
service management
Order Project Managers ensure timely and tested delivery of your service
We operate a resilient, global Network Operations Centre (NOC)
•
NOCs are staffed by technical professionals, with specific expertise in subsea, transmission and IP network
elements and technologies
We employ highly skilled engineers and technical experts
•
We recruit at degree level and support staff include qualified & accredited engineers (CCNA, CCIE & JNCIE)
Regional field engineers are on call 24*7 on a global basis
•
•
Coordinated by a central management function
Global Field Operations team has remote access to network management systems
Strict escalation and customer communications procedures are in place
•
Focused on resolving faults and restoring your service quickly and efficiently, keeping you informed throughout
www.flagtelecom.com
22
Network Operations and Management
FLAG operates a primary NOC in Heathrow (UK), secondary NOC in Fujairah (UAE) and a
Disaster Recovery NOC in London Docklands
The NOC proactively monitors FLAG’s network and facilities 24 hour-a-day, seven day-a week
•
•
Monitors network elements, identifying alarms and performing root cause analysis
Monitors environmental alarms, including intrusion, high/low temperature, fire or smoke, toxic/explosive gas,
DC/commercial AC power and water levels
The NOC is supported by integrated operational support systems (OSS), optimally
configured to detect & pinpoint faults to the individual network segment, handle incidents and
quickly re-route traffic whenever necessary
•
Including Micromuse Netcool (high-level alarm fault isolation), Peregrine Service Centre / Trouble Management
(trouble ticket system) & Cramer Dimension (circuit provisioning system)
Centralised Operations (co-located with the FLAG NOC) are the control point for the
network, logging and authorising all network activity
•
Responsible for repairing and restoring any customer circuit outages or any other events that happen on the network
Field engineering / operations resources manage all localised repair and maintenance
activities
www.flagtelecom.com
23
FLAG transmission services
FLAG offers a range of bandwidth services to support the global connectivity requirements of
our customers. Services are available at a wide range of speeds and with flexible contract
terms. Optional co-location is available in major city centres
FLAG Right of Use (RoU)
•
A long-term contract providing the right to use capacity between specific points on the FLAG network
FLAG Capacity Service
•
•
•
•
•
•
Protection is not guaranteed
Full or half circuit connectivity
Between landing stations, city nodes or customer premises
Targeted at major carriers that manage their own international facilities, back-up routes and restoration plans
One-top-shop service, facilitating all aspects of international delivery
Supporting all customer traffic types and applications, including voice, video and data
FLAG Managed Bandwidth Service (MBS)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Protected, offering maximum performance and resilience
Seamless, fully managed connectivity
Between landing stations, city nodes or customer premises
Targeted at major carriers that manage their own international facilities
One-stop-shop service, facilitating all aspects of international delivery
Supporting all customer traffic types and applications, including voice, video and data
www.flagtelecom.com
24
FLAG global MPLS/IP network & peering
AS15412
A high-speed, low packet-loss global MPLS/IP network, enabling superior
content delivery and advanced data networking. The core IP backbone is
complemented by peering with major content providers & ISPs at the world’s
principal international Internet exchanges.
www.flagtelecom.com
25
Summary
We own and manage the entire network, providing maximum control over service cost
and quality
•
Network either self-constructed or acquired on IRU / long-term lease basis
We have service operator licenses in key liberalised markets and maintain strong
relationships with the incumbent telecoms operators in all locations in which we operate
We offer extended reach as a standard option via city Points of Presence (PoPs),
metro rings and local tails
•
Access to service is available from city centre locations, landing stations and customer premises
Our network fully encircles the globe, enabling seamless traffic delivery both eastward
and westward
•
FLAG strives to always provide customers with the most direct path between source and destination and are
able to provide an on-net backup path
High scalability enables us to provide a full range of data speeds
An extensive range of measures are implemented to ensure maximum availability and
minimum disruption to customers
www.flagtelecom.com
26
Thank You
For further information, please visit www.flagtelecom.com for the contact details of your local FLAG Telecom
representative
The information in this presentation is provided for information purposes only. All reasonable efforts are used to ensure and maintain accuracy at the time of publishing. Future events may change its accuracy. No
representation or warranty is given by any person as to its accuracy or completeness and it should not be relied upon.
FLAG Telecom Ltd. Proprietary
For Information Only
www.flagtelecom.com