Melita announced this week that it has landed a multi-million euro contract to supply the University of Malta with improved connectivity to mainland Europe by DANTE, an EU-funded operation forming part of the pan-European GÉANT network.
Following this year’s completion of its 100-kilometre fibre optic submarine cable connecting Malta to the rest of the world, the contract is the first on such a scale for the supply of international bandwidth to be awarded to Melita.
The contract award follows a competitive global tender process in which a number of international communications giants took part. Melita was awarded the tender following a rigorous selection process. The decision was announced by DANTE after evaluating a number of bids and Melita’s proposal was found to offer the best solution for international connectivity, beating other bidders, including local companies that also supply international bandwidth.
Tendering companies were invited to offer solutions for network infrastructure and for connectivity to complement and enhance what is already in place.
Co-funded by the European Commission and Europe’s national research and education networks, GÉANT is a high-bandwidth, academic research network serving Europe’s research and education community. The network, which is managed by the Cambridge-based DANTE (Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe), interconnects over 30 million researchers spanning 34 European countries and links to a number of other world regions.
“Winning this tender is a major milestone for Melita as it proves our ability to meet the highest international standards for technical performance, reliability and overall value for money. The tender requirements offered specific challenges and we fought off major international and local competition. We are proud that we won this challenge and we look forward to this professional partnership with DANTE,” commented Melita Chief Technology Officer Simon Montanaro.
DANTE general manager Dai Davies added, “A key objective of GÉANT is to deliver real value and benefit to society by enabling research communities across Europe – and the world – to transform the way they collaborate on ground-breaking research. We therefore look forward to fostering this collaboration with Melita to further extend the availability of user-focused services, unrivalled geographical coverage, high bandwidth, and innovative hybrid networking technology.
“To ensure this, we had to make sure that our provider could deliver 24/7 services with peace of mind, high competence and value for money. Melita satisfied all criteria and we are happy to enter into this relationship with Malta’s leading communications provider.”
Melita’s e10 million investment in a state-of-the-art submarine cable marked a significant milestone in the company’s drive to strengthen all the components that together make up its fully integrated communications network, thus providing increased reliability, efficiency and better connectivity.
The investment’s benefits have already been passed on to Melita’s domestic, small and medium business Internet customers after the company upgraded all 2Mbps connections to 5Mbps and from 30Mbps to the superfast 50Mbps for free, the company said in a statement this week.
Moreover, it added, Melita is now in a position to service larger corporate clients requiring larger amounts of reliable international bandwidth.
“We are delighted to service a reputable EU body and the University of Malta in their international connectivity requirements. The agreement with DANTE is the first tangible success proving that our recent investment was indeed a sound business decision. Melita is surely at the forefront when it comes to servicing corporate and individual clients for any communications requirements,” remarked Melita Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wright.