Engineers working for Coventry-based Marconi will soon have snow on their boots after winning a contract to help upgrade telecoms in the Baltic state of Estonia.

Marconi will supply its "self-healing" optical fibre technology as part of a major upgrade of the Estonian capital's communications infrastructure.

The company won the key contract from Eesti Telefon Company. The Baltic state is preparing deregulation of its telecoms market, expected this year.

The SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) technology Marconi is supplying to Estonia uses rings of optical fibre to carry information around the city of Tallinn.

If a fault or break develops, the transmission can be redirected back around the ring so quickly that data or voice calls are not lost. Marconi is also providing the latest version its EMOS management system to bolster the network's performance.

The Estonia contract is the latest in a series of Baltic successes for Marconi. The firm now accounts for all of Lithuania's and Latvia's markets and 60 per cent of Estonia's.

Welcoming the contract win, Coventry-based Peter Brown, President, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia, Marconi Communications, said:

"Our success in the Baltic over the last few years has been remarkable, but we have only achieved it by continuing to offer the on-the-spot service and support which our customers need.

“With deregulation on the way in Estonia, the demands placed on us will become tougher, but we are confident of meeting the challenge."

Commenting on the decision to go with Marconi, Toivo Praakel, Transport Network Director at Eesti Telefon Company, said:

"Our relationship with the Marconi teams goes back many years, and our regard for their professionalism has only been enhanced by the company's recent aggressive focussing on optical networks.

“We are determined to be at the heart of Estonia's economic development and Marconi's R&D will give us the options we need."

It is the latest in a series of new contracts for Marconi, which is to build a £200 new site in Ansty on the edge of Coventry.

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