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Alcatel-Lucent and SHD, a joint venture between SFR and Neuf Cegetel, sign contract to deploy first next-generation WiMAX network in France


WEBWIRE

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE : ALU) and SHD, a corporate joint venture between SFR and Neuf Cegetel, today announced they had signed a two-year contract for the supply and installation of the first next-generation WiMAX network in France, using standard 802.16e-2005.

Alcatel-Lucent will equip the planned sites of SHD’s WiMAX network in the Ile-de-France (IDF) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) regions by mid-2009. The first sites are already operational in the Paris region due to a pilot network deployed at the end of 2006 and will be operational in the PACA region this summer, thanks to the second pilot network deployed by SHD and Alcatel-Lucent.

Based on the latest standard IEEE 802.16e-2005, the new radio network will use the 3.4 – 3.6 GHz frequency band. It will enable professional and residential subscribers alike to connect to broadband Internet in fixed and nomadic environments in areas with little or no DSL coverage. Alcatel-Lucent will provide its complete next-generation WiMAX solution so that SHD’s WiMAX network will benefit from one of the most advanced technologies in terms of radio frequency management.

“This first deployment of a WiMAX 802.16e-2005network in France follows several similar contracts won by Alcatel-Lucent in other European countries since the beginning of the year”, said Olivier Picard, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s Europe and South activities. “This first WiMAX reference in France confirms Alcatel-Lucent’s commitment to this technology, which is at the core of our universal broadband access strategy. It shows moreover that we are devoting the best of our R&D resources to satisfy our customers in France and throughout the world.”

“This contract follows on from the success of the first pilot WiMAX network deployed by Alcatel-Lucent for SHD last December on ten sites in the Paris region,” commented Frédéric Laforest, Executive Vice-President of SHD. “WiMAX gives the possibility of distributing state-of-the-art services, particularly in rural or urban regions that today lack sufficient connectivity. We considered that Alcatel-Lucent’s solution offered the best performance and was the most innovative.”

Alcatel-Lucent will also qualify advanced WiMAX terminals complying with standard IEEE 802.16e-2005, aided by one of the world’s leading suppliers.





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