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Alcatel Submarine Networks

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French telecommunications company Not to be confused with Alcatel, Alcatel-Lucent, or Alcatel Mobile.
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Alcatel Submarine Networks
Company typeSimplified joint stock company
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1858 (1858)
Headquarters1 avenue du Canada, Les Ulis, Paris-Saclay, France
Key peopleAlain Biston (CEO)
ServicesManufacture, deployment and maintenance of submarine cable networks
OwnerAgence des participations de l'État (80%)
Nokia (20%)
Number of employees2,000
Websiteasn.com

Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is a French company and one of the three world leaders in the manufacture and installation of submarine cables. It was a subsidiary of Alcatel, then Alcatel-Lucent, until it was acquired by the Finnish group Nokia in 2016. It was owned by Nokia France from 2016 to 2024. The French state acquired 80% of the company's capital in November 2024.

Alcatel Submarine Networks designs, manufactures, lays and maintains telecommunications submarine cables and related equipment, using its own vessels to carry optical fibre around the globe. Laying telecommunications submarine cables is a strategic industry. ASN, Subcom and NEC dominate this global market, with 99% of Internet traffic passing through these cables, 80% of which transits through the United States, whatever its destination. In 2018, ASN's market share (30%) was ahead of Japanese competitor NEC (23%) and American Subcom (20%).

As of 2024, ASN has 2,000 employees, including 1,370 in France. The company has several sites in France, the United Kingdom and Norway. Alcatel Submarine Networks has a fleet of seven cable-laying vessels and is the world No. 1 in the sector.

History

In 1858, the Submarine Telegraph Company, founded by Thomas Crampton, was created and became an international telegraph network operator. On 30 January 1860, the Submarine Telegraph Company laid the first telegraph cable between Jersey and France. In 1925, the Compagnie Générale d'Électricité absorbed the Compagnie Générale des Cables de Lyon.

In 1991, Compagnie Générale d'Électricité changed its name to Alcatel-Alsthom. Compagnie Générale des Câbles de Lyon became Alcatel Câble and acquired AEG Kabel.

In 1993, Alcatel Cable acquired the British company STC Submarine Systems (formerly the Submarine Telegraph Company) and its 34,000 m2 factory at Enderby's Wharf on the Greenwich Peninsula on the banks of the Thames, where submarine cables had been made since 1857. The company had latterly been a division of Northern Telecom Europe (which later became Nortel). Alcatel Cable became the world's leading cable manufacturer, with around 40% of the global market for fibre-optic submarine telecommunications cables. Production capacity would reach 30,000 km of optical cable per year.

In June 1994, Alcatel merged its submarine telecommunications activities into a new company called Alcatel Submarine Systems. This subsidiary was 51% owned by Alcatel Câble (which became Nexans) and 49% by Alcatel-CIT. On 9 October 2000, Alcatel Cable became Nexans. Alcatel retained Alcatel Submarine Networks and 20% of Nexans (this stake in Nexans was resold in 2005).

On 1 December 2006, Alcatel acquired Lucent Technologies to form Alcatel-Lucent. Alcatel Submarine Networks became Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks.

On 8 April 2009, the following 12 companies signed an agreement for the construction and maintenance of the West Africa Cable System, a cable linking South Africa to the United Kingdom via the Atlantic Ocean: Vodacom, Togo Telecom, Telkom SA, Telecom Namibia, Tata Communications/Neotel, Portugal Telecom/Cabo Verde Telecom, Office congolais des postes et télécommunications, Groupe MTN, Congo Telecom, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Broadband Infraco and Angola Câbles. The supply contract was signed the same day between the consortium members and Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks.

In 2011, Alcatel Submarine Networks continued its global presence on the oceans through its cable ships: the CS Ile de Sein contributed to the recovery of the data recorder from Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic. This proved that the company has the versatility to use the vessel to recover an object from the seabed for telecommunications or emergency assistance purposes. An ROV from Phoenix International Inc also helped the ship.

On 15 July 2010, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks began laying the WACS cable, with the departure from Île de Bréhat of the Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks cable factory in Calais, loaded with nearly 6,000 km of submarine cable. The cable was laid by Île de Bréhat and its sister ship Île de Sein. The installation officially ended on 19 April 2011 with the laying of the cable in Yzerfontein, after less than 10 months at sea. The cable became operational on 11 May 2012 when it was illuminated in South Africa.

In 2014, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks acquired the Norwegian company Optoplan, a division of the French oil group CGG.

On 15 April 2015, Alcatel-Lucent announced its acquisition by Finnish telecoms giant Nokia. Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks would become part of Nokia's Submarine Network Solutions division in France, but was intended to remain independent.

In 2017, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks reverted to its original name, Alcatel Submarine Networks.

At the end of October 2018, Nokia and French company Ekinops confirmed that they had been in discussions for several months about a possible takeover of Alcatel Submarine Networks, Nokia's submarine cable business, but discussions ended in April 2019. The French government was still looking for a round of financing that could include Orange Marine, in order to protect its strategic interests.

By 1 January 2022, ASN had laid more than 700,000 km of cable on the seabed, maintained more than 300,000 km of cable and commissioned more than 200 fibre optic systems.

On 27 June 2024, the French government announced that it had reached an agreement with Nokia to buy 80% of ASN's shares through the Agence des participations de l'État (APE). This decision means that the 'strategic company' is once again controlled by a French shareholder, after the Finnish group had been considering the company's future for two years. The deal is valued at €100 million, drawn from the government's financial holdings special allocation account, whereas the total value of the company (including cash and debt) is €350 million. Nokia retains 20% of the capital, but the APE will be able to buy back this share, under conditions that have not been communicated.

The company holds around a third of this global market, alongside TE SubCom of the US and NEC of Japan. Its optical fibre now covers more than 800,000 kilometres of the Earth, almost twenty times its circumference. ASN operates in a growing market, with growth expected to be close to 10% a year until at least 2032, according to Global Market Insights. The French government completed its takeover of ASN by signing a contract to acquire 80% of the capital on 5 November 2024 in Calais, at the company's historic plant.

Fleet

In 2023, ASN will have a fleet of 7 vessels. The Île de Bréhat, Île de Batz, Île de Sein, Île d'Aix and Île d'Yeu vessels are used to lay submarine cables. The vessels Île d'Ouessant and Île de Molène are used for cable maintenance.

In 2011, ASN purchased the CS Gulmar Badaro, renaming it CS Ile d'Aix to further expand its operations. This vessel was built in 1992 and was equipped with cable repair and laying technologies.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Jacques Cheminat (27 June 2024). "L'Etat rachète 80% d'Alcatel Submarine Networks - Le Monde Informatique". LeMondeInformatique.fr. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  2. "Les câbles sous-marins, autoroutes vitales de l'Internet mondial". latribune.fr. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. "Les Câbles sous-marins : une guerre invisible... aux effets volcaniques". latribune.fr. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  4. "Le Dessous des cartes - Câbles sous-marins : la guerre invisible". arte.tv (in French). 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  5. Antoine Izambard (12 September 2019). "Alcatel Submarine Networks, le champion français des câbles sous-marins revit grâce à Facebook et Google". Challenges. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  6. "Une histoire du télégraphe à Jersey, La Submarine Telegraph Company" (PDF). gfol1.snsmpirou.com. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  7. Green, Allan. "150 Years Of Industry & Enterprise At Enderby's Wharf". History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  8. Michel Alberganti (22 July 1993). "Alcatel Câble devient leader mondial du câble sous-marin". Les Échos. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  9. Nouvelle, L'Usine (2013-01-14). "L'activité câble sous-marin d'Alcatel est-elle si stratégique ?". usinenouvelle.com. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  10. "Les activités Câbles et Composants d'Alcatel donnent naissance à Nexans - Nexans". nexans.fr. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  11. "Alcatel-lucent : Contrat avec le consortium wacs". tradingsat.com (in French). 8 April 2009. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  12. "Phoenix Conducts Flight 447 Critical Item Recoveries" (PDF). isasi.org. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  13. "WACS Landing in pictures". IT news Africa. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  14. Writer, Staff. "WACS launched in South Africa". Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  15. "Alcatel-Lucent rachète Optoplan à CGG". investir.lesechos.fr. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  16. "Annonce de fusion sur le site d'Alcatel-Lucent". alcatel-lucent.com. 15 April 2015.
  17. "La filiale de câbles sous-marins d'Alcatel-Lucent bientôt indépendante". alcatel-lucent.com. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  18. "History - ASN". asn.com (in French). 1 January 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  19. "Ekinops échoue à racheter Alcatel Submarine Networks". latribune.fr avec Reuters. 12 April 2019.
  20. Michel Cabirol, Pierre Manière (9 December 2019). "Pourquoi Nokia ne veut plus lâcher Alcatel Submarine Networks". ssiplg.com.
  21. "Alcatel Submarine Networks (Nozay, Île-de-France)". UIMM. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  22. "Câbles sous-marins: l'État va racheter 80% d'Alcatel Submarine Networks". lefigaro.fr avec AFP. 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  23. ^ Olivier Pinaud (2024-11-04). "ASN, fabricant « stratégique » de câbles télécoms sous-marins, nationalisé par l'Etat". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  24. Thomas Pontiroli (2024-11-04). "Câbles sous-marins : l'Etat finalise le rachat du spécialiste français ASN". LesEchos.fr. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  25. Guilhem Bernes (2024-11-04). "L'Etat enterine la nationalisation du géant des câbles sous-marins Alcatel Submarine Network pour 100 millions d'euros". UsineNouvelle.com. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  26. "ASN et ses câbles sous-marins : les contours d'un achat stratégique de l'État". La Tribune (in French). 2024-11-05. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  27. "ASN - Alcatel Submarine Networks". web.asn.com. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  28. Caroline Britz (11 December 2017). "ASN : Plongée dans le monde des câbles sous-marins". MeretMarine.com. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  29. "ASN : l'Ile d'Ouessant va remplacer le Peter Faber". MeretMarine.com. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  30. "GULMAR BADARO - IMO 9009310". shipspotting.com. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  31. Caroline Britz (16 December 2020). "Le câblier Ile d'Aix augmente sa capacité de stockage de câble". MeretMarine.com. Retrieved 20 July 2024.

See also

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