Your link to submarine systems expertise… www.axiom.fr AXIOM SARL - 21 rue d’Antin, 75002 Paris, France - Tel. +33 1 44 51 71 50 - Fax. +33 1 44 51 98 45 - [email protected] Company Profile AXIOM is comprised of 6 highly skilled experts in telecommunication and submarine fibre cable industries. AXIOM has a very wide range of activities, including on the one hand strategic support to main industry players such as market assessments, financial feasibility and market entry studies, etc. and, on the other hand, support to consortia- led and private cable systems such as technical and network design, promotion, engineering and managing the implementation and maintenance of telecommunication cable facilities, in Europe and internationally. The AXIOM team brings technical, commercial, legal and management expertise and support making commercial arrangements with customers, partners and suppliers from both the finance and the telecommunication worlds. AXIOM has also an extended network of specialists, who can bring their own experience and help to a project, under AXIOM’s supervision. and Submarine Cables AXIOM's strong position in undersea communications comes from a 150 year tradition of European excellence in the domain and to its management team which has over a century of combined experience in the development, implementation and management of submarine cable projects and operation of submarine cable systems. These encompass all aspects of submarine cable development and operations: planning, partnering, financing, promotion, engineering services, end-to-end network design, system procurement, project management, Quality Assurance (“QA”) services, acceptance testing and network Operation and Maintenance (“O&M”). We provide our customers with total assistance, support and experience to “socialise”, promote, negotiate, implement and market effectively their own submarine cable projects and products in order to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing submarine cable industry. Company Profile AXIOM Proprietary Page 2 Company Profile AXIOM Strengths AXIOM strength lies in the strong and diversified experience of its management team in all aspects of the financing, promotion, design, construction and operation of submarine cable systems. AXIOM Team, together, has accumulated experience in several matters related to the submarine industry: Carrier’s experience: four members of our team previously worked for international carriers with deep involvement in submarine cable projects and subsequently in the management of submarine cable systems, Supplier’s experience: four members of our team previously worked for two major submarine cable Suppliers (namely ASN and Tycom), Marine installation & maintenance: one of our members had a top position within a marine service provider for 10 years, International know-how & recognition: AXIOM team includes two senior members amongst the most well-known and respected key-figures of the submarine cable marketplace. Jean DEVOS was instrumental in finalising a large number of the submarine system deals which occurred in the past 20 years, and was the founder of Suboptic, the international conference on submarine cables, which he chaired until May 2001. Alain LECLERC was instrumental in the promotion and construction of several major cables around the world, among which SEA-ME-WE 3, the largest fibre- optic cable ever built, Strategic & Technical Planning: several team members have defined new strategic direction for carriers and have led them into the submarine world, integrating terrestrial and submarine network design elements to create a seamless, attractive commercial proposition, Technology: one of our members worked for a large R&D centre for 8 years, where he conducted research on advanced fibre-optic transmission, including DWDM and long-haul repeater-less transmission, Implementation know-how & project management: all AXIOM members have been involved in many international cable projects implementation and have acquired solid skills in project management and in problem handling and solving in a multi- national environment, Financing: Two of our members were deeply involved in the financial engineering of one of the first private submarine system. _______________________ Company Profile AXIOM Proprietary Page 3 Company Profile AXIOM Range of Skills A. Strategic Consultancy related to the Submarine Industry AXIOM, due to the extensive experience of its team, can provide strategic consultancy to industry players such as financial entities, carriers, carrier’s carriers and suppliers as follows: Review and advice on general international networking strategy including but not limited to its participation to the construction of some submarine systems, international capacity purchasing policy, domestic network adequacy to the international connection. Introduction to capacity sellers and/or negotiation of capacity purchase/lease (or swap) agreements with other entities. Market overview in terms of competition, forecast of future demand, market share allocation and capacity price evolution. Analysis of the capacity market trends in terms of demand, type of capacity and pricing of capacity. Assistance in the pricing and marketing policy. Marketing and sales of capacity products towards carriers and assistance in negotiation of the capacity sales. Market analysis, including projection of future system construction, trends in technology evolution and future carriers’ requirement, asset management. Analysis of the various opportunities available in the market in terms of investment. Assistance in telecom network asset management. Customer needs assessment through in-depth interviews with key purchasers and influencers of international capacity. B. Consultancy Activities related to System Implementation and O&M Hereafter is a typical list of activities related to the implementation of fibre optic submarine cable projects which could be carried out by AXIOM within a Consultancy Contract. Phase 1 Feasibility and Configuration Study Commercial and financial study, including market study (existing and planned competition, telecommunication traffic projection), financing option (available fund sources in case of private, potential parties in case of consortium, hybrid financing scheme, etc.) Desk-Study of System configurations (selection of landing points, branching or point-to-point connections, optical fibre routing, system design capacities, etc.) Company Profile AXIOM Proprietary Page 4 Company Profile Desk-Study of cable routes, selection of cable types, cable protections (burial, etc.) Network architecture integration to ensure a seamless network which meets customer requirements Estimates of the Pricing of selected configurations to allow the decision-makers to make an evaluation of the system configurations Finalisation of the System configuration (including technical design and initial Route Position List) Drafting of a request for Suppliers’ ROM (Rough Order of Magnitude) price estimates Review assessment and evaluation of the ROMs data and recommendation for the pre-selection of a set of adequate tenderers Phase 2 Supply Contract Negotiation Draft of the proposed Terms & Conditions and Technical Specifications for the Contract for the Electronic Survey of the Submarine Cable Route. Draft of the proposed Terms & Conditions and Technical Specifications for the Contract for the provision of the submarine cable system. Draft of the Tendering procedures. Release of the Invitation to Tender. Draft of the adjudication procedures Review and assessment of the Suppliers Tenders, recommendations on proposed prices and conditions of the Tenders Assistance to the Cable System Purchasers during negotiations and clarifications with the Tenderers Recommendation on the preferred Supplier Finalisation of the Supply Contract documents and price Study and recommend the Financial Proposals in the Tenders Phase 3 Assistance to the Purchasers for the follow-up of the System implementation Quality Assurance Inspection Provision of Inspection services related to quality plan and design qualification, factory audits and factory tests. Provision of inspection services for the drafting and negotiation of on-site tests and system commissioning and performance of on-site tests and system commissioning Follow up of the execution of the Supply Contracts up to the RFS date of the System Finalisation of the Project Budget Regular progress meetings with the Supplier (coordination meetings, technical meetings) Company Profile AXIOM Proprietary Page 5 Company Profile Negotiations with the Supplier during Contract Implementation (Finalisation of the marine route, Contract Variations, etc.) Progress-Reporting to Purchasers, including assessment on the quality of the work and the time to completion Follow-up of Project budget Technical follow-up of the project including definition and review of commissioning tests Recommendation on System Acceptance and drafting of System Acceptance Certificate Phase 4 Assistance to the Purchasers in the Operation and Maintenance during life time of the System Operation and Maintenance Technical assistance to the Client during cable fault (fault localisation, repair methods, coordination with station, measurement tests) Participation to repair operation as Purchasers representative Technical assistance in optimisation of the terminal and interconnection equipments operation and maintenance procedures, sparing policy Regular analysis of the equipment and system