Alcatel-Lucent to deploy one of Europe’s largest WiFi networks in Italy

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that Tecnofin Immobiliare, owned by the public administration of the Italian province of Trento, has awarded Alcatel-Lucent and a consortium of sub-contracting companies that includes Essentia S.p.A. and Sensi s.r.l, a contract to supply and integrate the first urban WiFi network in Trento. This broadband WiFi wireless access network will help bridge the digital divide, bringing high-speed Internet access even to small areas still not reached by DSL.


This network will enable Trentino province to provide municipalities, businesses of all sizes and residential users with broadband wireless access to the Internet as well as voice services. It will serve public sites in the area, including schools, businesses and individual households, and will deliver broadband services to inhabitants and visitors.


“Trentino regards innovation as one of the mainstays on which to base its own territorial policies development, by focusing on opening to other realities on a European scale, and on its network development in order to achieve competitiveness, social, economical and cultural growth,” Mr Lorenzo Dellai, Province of Trento’s President, has emphasized. “The network Alcatel-Lucent is deploying will provide 1,600 WiFi access points and will be one of the largest in Italy and all of Europe.”


Alcatel-Lucent will provide the engineering, integration, installation and commissioning and will be in charge of the operation, monitoring and maintenance of the WiFi network, which will employ an existing Alcatel-Lucent optical backbone network. In addition it will provide its Alcatel-Lucent 9500 MXC, a new generation of digital, medium-to-high-capacity, point-to-point microwave radio.


“This complex and sophisticated project is further proof of our global track-record for network and services integration,” said Olivier Picard, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s Europe and South activities. “This success confirms Alcatel-Lucent’s leading position as a turnkey provider of broadband access solutions helping bridge the digital divide. This contract demonstrates the value of our Broadband for All vision.”


About Tecnofin Trentina
Is a public financial company, which through its control of Tecnofin Immobiliare S.r.l., financially supports the Province of Trento for telecommunications projects. Tecnofin Immobiliare S.r.l., with reference to the agreement with the province of Trento, has the task of enabling the region with a broadband network, which includes not only the wireless project, but also an 800 Km optical backbone.


About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved adjusted proforma revenues of Euro 18.3 billion in 2006 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. [All figures exclude impact of activities to be transferred to Thales]. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com