Prysmian awarded € 223 million contract to supply fibre optic cables for the development of the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN)

Prysmian Cables & Systems, a world leader in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, has been awarded a major contract by the Australian Government-owned NBN Co Limited for the supply of fibre optic cables for the development of the new national broadband network. Total value of the contract, which has been secured by Prysmian Telecom Cables & Systems Australia Pty Limited, is up to € 223 million (AUD 300 million) over five years, with an initial purchase order of € 112 million (AUD150 million).

With this agreement, Prysmian will become a major fibre cable supplier to the national broadband network, and will provide a wide range of ribbon and multi-fibre communication cables including termite resistant, rodent-proof and high strength cables.
The Australian Government is investing in the creation of a Fibre to the Premise network that will connect 93% of Australia’s residential and business premises with fibre. Through its partnership with NBN Co, Prysmian is helping the Australian Government achieve its vision of a next generation broadband network, and will be an integral part of the largest national building infrastructure project in Australia’s history.

The Group is a true world leader in telecom cables and connectivity, supplying a comprehensive portfolio of optical cables including OPGW, blown fibre, optical fibre and copper telecom cables. It operates 18 multiple production facilities in four continents, with a production centre in Italy where around 10 million km of optical fibres are produced annually (approx 5% of the whole worldwide industry production. A strong focus on R&D ensures constant innovation especially for access network solutions, FTTH, FTTx with various bespoke systems to address customer needs. Prysmian has developed a full range of optical fibres including Bend-Insensitive family of CasaLight fibre in compliance with ITU G 657 and offers a complete service from system design through to production and technical support of commissioned cable networks with planning and logistics.
The Group has become the partner of choice for companies such as Bharti Airtel, BT, France Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Verizon, Vodafone and Telstra.

In order to enhance its Australian-based manufacturing and assembly capacity, Prysmian will invest around € 10 million (AUD 13 million) to manufacture the specialised cables at its manufacturing facility in Dee Why, Australia, expanding its operations as part of a commitment to source in Australia approximately 80 per cent of the value of its contract with NBN Co.

Present in Australia since 1975, Prysmian counts almost 500 employees in the region and two manufacturing facilities in Dee Why and Liverpool NSW, and it is the only company in Australia and New Zealand producing a full range of communication cables and associated connectivity systems including optical fibre, Sirocco Blown Fibre systems, FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) solutions, metallic and premises/data cables.

PRYSMIAN
A leading player in the industry of high-technology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications, the Prysmian Group is a truly global company with sales in excess of € 3.7 billion in 2009 and a strong position in higher value-added market segments. With its two businesses, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and underground cables for power transmission and distribution, for industrial applications and for the distribution of electricity to residential and commercial buildings) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical cables and fibres and copper cables for video, data and voice transmission), Prysmian boasts a global presence with subsidiaries in 39 countries, 56 plants in 24 countries, 8 Research & Development Centres in Europe, USA, South America and Asia, and around 12,000 employees.
Specialising in the development of products and services designed to customer customers’ specific requirements, Prysmian's key strengths include: a focus on Research & Development, the capacity to innovate products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange in the Blue Chip index.