Prysmian signs OPGW deal

has secured a contract to supply more than 2000km of Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) cable to

.

The contract was signed at the end of last year between Prysmian Telecomunicacoes Cabos e Sistemas, Brazil and China’s Zhongxing Telecom Equipment Company Limited (ZTE), who will install the cables on the high voltage (up to 400kV) network of CADAFE, the Venezuelan state electrical utility.

OPGW cable forms an integral part of an overhead electricity network, performing the primary function of a conventional earth conductor, together with the provision of a communications link. The cable supplied in this contract will form the first part of a major national telecoms network providing a full range of broadband and internet services to CADAFE customers.

A total of 2,260km of OPGW is to be supplied in this first phase with the cable containing a combination of 24 and 48 single mode optical fibres. The optical fibres within the cables will be produced at Prysmian's facility in