Digital microwave link to be installed by 2001

A 115 megabit digital microwave radio link between Malta and Italy will be installed by May 2001. This link will serve as a backup communications facility in the case of the submarine fibre optic cable linking Malta and Sicily developing problems. It will ensure continuity of service for voice and data communications.
An agreement on the installation of the digital microwave link was signed yesterday between Maltacom and Telecom Italia. The contract for this link has been awarded to Alcatel.
The system will link Maltacom’s radio station at Naxxar to San Gregorio di Catania in Sicily. The backhaul facilities, to extend the signal from Naxxar and San Gregorio to the existing cable landing stations at St Julian’s and Catania respectively, have already been installed.
The radio system will employ the latest Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) technology. Due to lack of direct line-of-sight between the two terminal stations, the system consists of two radio hops – a 138 kilometre hop over the sea from Naxxar to Monte Lauro, and a second 56 kilometre hop from Monte Lauro to San Gregorio di Catania.
Maintenance work on the Naxxar tower is currently underway in order to prepare for the installation of a 3.7 metre parabolic antennae for the microwave link.
Maltacom’s chief executive officer Stephen Muscat said the new system will enhance the international network security by providing partial restoration facilities in case of failure of the existing submarine cable, Moreover, it will provide another route for growth in international data and voice traffic.
The digital microwave link will replace the existing analogue radio link that after almost 25 years in service has now become obsolete.