17 June 2008     

Cables&Wireless and Telecom Italia Sparkle partnership shines bright

10 June 2008 – Telecom Italia Sparkle and Cable&Wireless announced today they have entered an enhanced partnership agreement to drive, expand and support business presence in key growth areas. The partnership enables Cable&Wireless to deliver network access into the Mediterranean Basin and gives Telecom Italia Sparkle the possibility to further improve its network capability into Asia

The agreement will see Cable&Wireless provide network infrastructure and services to Telecom Italia Sparkle, as it meets the needs of its international customers moving business, manufacturing and operations to Asia. Cable&Wireless enjoys a strong market reputation across Asia and was recently awarded International Long Distance and National Long Distance Licences, by the Indian Government, to establish and manage its own operations in India.

Reciprocally, Telecom Italia Sparkle’s state of the art regional fibre optic network enables Cable&Wireless enterprise customers to access enhanced data, voice and managed services such as IP-VPN for operations in MEA.

Telecom Italia Sparkle’s strong geographical positioning in the Mediterranean Basin has enabled it to build an extensive network throughout the region. This infrastructure is based on Telecom Italia Sparkle’s own MedNautilus Network including exclusive regional bilateral and consortium cable systems, and is strengthened through its investment in the upcoming I-ME-WE (India, Middle East, Western Europe) cable system.

Cable&Wireless and Telecom Italia Sparkle believe that the partnership is an efficient route to improving geographic coverage with enterprise grade quality of service whilst ensuring the most sagacious use of infrastructure investment.

Stefano Mazzitelli, Chief Executive Officer, Telecom Italia Sparkle, said: “We enjoy a successful relationship with Cable&Wireless and this joint new initiative demonstrates the focus we have in increasing reciprocal competitiveness in areas that are key for the expansion of our customers.”

Jim Marsh, Chief Executive Officer, Cable&Wireless Europe, Asia and US, added: “This partnership allows us both to benefit from each other’s infrastructure investment and extend our global reach without further capital expenditure. We’ve significantly expanded our presence in Asia through our licenses in India and will be able to fully support Telecom Italia Sparkle as its customers enter this new market. In turn we’re looking forward to working closely with Telecom Italia Sparkle to fulfil our own ambitions in the Mediterranean and Africa.”

For more information about Cable&Wireless, go to www.cw.com