E-Plus Mobilfunk extends outsourcing contract to Alcatel-Lucent for five years

After a transition phase, E-Plus announced today that it has extended its contract with Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) for the expansion, maintenance and operation of its mobile network from three to five years. The extension of the contract was awarded to Alcatel-Lucent because of network quality stabilization and improvements during the transition phase.

Alcatel-Lucent initially took over the operational business units, which are responsible for building, running and maintaining the Düsseldorf-based operator’s mobile network, for a period of three years on March 1, 2007. The outsourcing resulted in the transfer of around 750 E-Plus employees throughout Germany, to Alcatel-Lucent. The agreed transition phase was successfully completed earlier in October. Therefore, all processes such as IT Systems for the network management, replacement parts procurement for base stations are now managed entirely from within the Alcatel-Lucent environment.

“We’re very satisfied with the performance of Alcatel-Lucent during the first months. Thanks to their well-coordinated team and experience with other international outsourcing projects, the transition phase went smoothly and was managed professionally,” explained Elmar Grasser, Chief Technical Officer of E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co KG, on the decision to extend the contract to 2012. “The fact that despite continuous change and optimization, the quality of our network could even be improved, especially with regard to voice services, was also decisive,” Grasser added.

“E-Plus’ network operations are going very well because of the experienced team and smooth cooperation. The extension of the outsourcing agreement demonstrates E-Plus’ confidence in our expertise and dedication,” said John Meyer, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s services activities.



About E-Plus Mobilfunk

With about 13.6 million subscribers (June 2007), E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co. KG is the third largest mobile communications provider in Germany. Profitable growth is central to the company, which consistently gears its activities according to its operating results. E-Plus has significantly increased its market share since mid-2005, experiencing the fastest and most profitable growth of the providers present on the German market.

With the launch of new names and products such as BASE, simyo, AY YILDIZ and vybemobile in 2005, the company has evolved into a brand group. The BASE flat-rate brand with subscription cards for normal and heavy users and the discount simyo brand with prepaid cards for infrequent users round out the E-Plus line for private and business customers. AY YILDIZ is the first mobile brand for the Turkish-German community. The latest addition to the range had its debut in October 2006: vybemobile, Germany’s first phone and music brand for young users and music fans. Partnerships with enterprises from other industries such as Medion (ALDI talk), VIVA and Conrad round out the family. Since mid-2005, these new initiatives have brought nearly 5.9 million users to the E-Plus fold.