Prysmian Group secures 1,200 km of optical cables (OPGW) contract from TIM Brazil

Prysmian Group has won a contract to supply TIM CELULAR S.A. Brasil (a subsidiary of TIM Brasil S.A.) with more than 1,200 km of Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) telecom cables. The cables will be installed on the important Tucuruí–Macapá–Manaus transmission line as part of the “LT Amazonas” infrastructural modernisation project.

The Tucuruí-Macapá-Manaus line, also known as “The Big Line” and located on the left bank of the Amazon River, is over 1,800 km long. Its purpose is to enhance the electricity system in the north of the country by connecting the capital cities of the Amazon and Amapá regions to Brazil’s second largest hydroelectric plant, located in Tucuruí. The connection will consist of seven transmission lines and eight substations involving an overall investment of more than €1,200 million.

The overhead OPGW cables, manufactured for this project at the Brazilian Sorocaba plant and containing 36 optical fibres, serve the dual role of both earth conductor - protecting the transmission line against lightning and fault currents – and communications cable, with the optical fibres providing a state of the art high-speed data transmission system carrying voice, internet and data traffic. This new contract confirms Prysmian Group’s leadership in projects to upgrade telecom networks on high voltage overhead lines using OPGW technology. Since supply of OPGW began in 1983, the Group has installed more than 175,000 km of cables worldwide, demonstrating this product’s superior performance and long-term reliability in a wide range of environments.

Prysmian Group is a world leader in the sector of optical cable for telecommunications. The Telecom business represents 18% of Prysmian Group turnover, equating to €1.3 billion (pro-forma 2010). The recent integration with Draka has significantly increased the Group’s presence in the TLC sector, as well as in the highest growth-potential regions such as Europe, Asia Pacific and South America.

Prysmian’s customers include the world’s principal telecom operators such as Verizon in the USA, for whom Prysmian has been a main partner in FTTH programme to cable 3 million homes a year, British Telecom in Europe, Bharti in India and Telstra in Australia, where the Group is involved in bringing broadband connections to 93% of the country’s homes and businesses and is the main supplier of optical cable for the NBN (National Broadband Network) project.