Interoute restores OTE’s Greece to UK data/IP connectivity within 24 hours of submarine cables being taken out by Algerian earthquake.
LONDON, ENGLAND , 29 May 2003 - The human cost of the earthquake in Algeria last week was immense. The cost to businesses in the region, whilst far less tragic, was still significant. The earthquake took out two of the main submarine cables - FLAG and Sea-Me-We-3 - that provided network communications in the region. This resulted in the largest Greek telecommunications operator, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. (OTE) losing its high bandwidth data/IP connectivity to the UK. To retrieve the situation, it turned to Interoute, which owns and operates Europe's most advanced and densely connected network and with which i t had just signed an agreement to provide high speed European data network services by the end of 2003 in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Although the new Greece-to-Europe network was not yet in place, Interoute’s commitment to its customers is such that it worked with OTE and Telecom Italia to provide a high bandwidth restoration route to the UK. With multiple points of presence in most major European cities, Interoute identified locations adjacent to OTE facilities in London and Telecom Italia facilities in Milan. OTE was able to connect to the south of Italy where Telecom Italia carried the circuits to Milan. Interoute then interconnected to its own network and carried the line to its destination in the London Hosting Centre, all in double-quick time.
James Kinsella, executive chairman of Interoute, said, “I think this really shows that, for Interoute, customer responsiveness is more than just a marketing slogan. The teamwork and commitment of our engineers has helped to demonstrate our value to a key customer right at the start of the relationship.”
In providing the restoration route, all of the card installations, cable patching, building connections, provisioning, testing and customer handover took place within 24 hours of Interoute being first notified.
Discussing his reaction to the speed at which the problem was resolved, an OTE senior manager referred to an ancient Greek saying: "A friend learns about a friend when in pain or in danger." In receiving such a rapid response to a potentially damaging situation, OTE has learned a lot about Interoute.
To learn more about Interoute’s ability to rapidly solve networking problems, please contact Nick McMenemy, nick.mcmenemy@interoute.com .
About Interoute
Interoute is Europe's fastest growing telecoms provider and owner operator of Europe's most advanced and densely connected voice and data network. It delivers intelligent, customer-controlled network services to a diverse range of businesses including mobile operators, service providers and enterprise customers. Unencumbered by debt, and with established operations throughout mainland Europe and North America , Interoute also owns and operates dense city networks throughout Europe's major business centres. http://www.interoute.com/
For more information, please contact:
Anna Milborrow / Joanna Lane
Brodeur Worldwide (for Interoute)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7298 7070
Email: amilborrow@uk.brodeur.com