PRYSMIAN AT THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Milan, 26 January 2010 - Prysmian Telecom Cables and Systems announces the first deployment of its Sirocco®,
blown optical fibre system, in Italy. The installation has been carried out at the ELETTRA research facility in Basovizza
near Trieste, in the north-east of the country. ELETTRA is an advanced synchrotron light laboratory, run by Sincrotrone
Trieste S.C.p.A. It specializes in fundamental studies of sub-atomic matter using its third generation synchrotron
particle accelerator. The fourth generation light source "Fermi@Elettra" is currently under commissioning and will allow
advanced research to be undertaken in several fields of matter structure.
The optical fibre network is part of the FERMI timing system developed at ELETTRA. The fibre performs a vital role
allowing the various component parts of the system to operate synchronously with one another to enable ultra fast
experiments, such as chemical reactions and transition of matter into different states, which truly happen at the 'speed
of light'.
The Sirocco® system consists of small units or bundles of optical fibres which are deployed into a network of preinstalled
tubes by means of compressed air. Fibres installed in this fashion remain free of any mechanical stress
ensuring a long term integrity of the fibre links in this unique environment. Furthermore the Sirocco® system allows
additional fibres to be installed on demand into the tube network without long interruptions to the on-going scientific
work of the facility. To date a total of 10 km of Sirocco® has been installed in the tunnel network of the accelerator
with significant further quantities planned as the "Fermi@Elettra" system continues to be developed.
Whilst this is the first Sirocco® deployment in Prysmian's home country of Italy and the first in such a specialized
location it is by no means a new technology. It has now been installed in more than 20 countries around the world in
recent years with more than 1 million kms of fibre deployed to date. Its main application is in the building of local
business and domestic access telecom networks with numerous new installations taking place in relation to current
growth in broadband demand. Fibre-to-the-home(FTTH) networks are now being rolled out on a daily basis and the
chosen technology of many operators is Sirocco®.

For further info go to www.prysmian.com
Also see www.elettra.trieste.it