US-based carrier UNIFI Communications has delayed the commercial launch of Albania’s first private undersea cable.
The firm yesterday stated the network will launch by end-2011 several months later than the 1Q11 date touted when the firm first unveiled its plan for the Balkans-Italy Network in May.
UNIFI revealed the delay while announcing Alcatel-Lucent as the supplier of the 270km cable, which will link Albania’s capital Tirana with Bari in Italy.
Alcatel-Lucent is supplying DWDM-based infrastructure and optical exchange equipment at the cable’s landing points that will be used to link Albania’s first fiber connected data center to hubs in Western Europe.
The network is the first phase in a broader scheme to connect neighboring countries including Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro.
UNIFI chief Adrian Shatku said the firm aims “to become the first provider in the region to offer 40Gbps network technology.”
Interoute Communications, operator of Europe’s largest fiber network, was signed up in May to provide the Italian landing points for the UNIFI cable.