Alcatel-Lucent and Mobily deliver superfast broadband with successful trial of superfast mobile network in Saudi Arabia

Completion of 100-Gigabit trial opens the door to fast new network to meet explosion in demand for mobile broadband services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Paris – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext and NYSE: ALU) and Mobily have announced the successful completion of a 100-Gigabits (100G) live trial to meet increasing demand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for access to high-bandwidth data applications.

Mobily, the official brand name of Etihad Etisalat, is the second largest operator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with over 40% of mobile subscriptions. The successful completion of this trial in Jeddah, marks a major step for Mobily in delivering new services such as video-conferencing and high-resolution image transfer.

As well as enhanced capacity and performance, Alcatel-Lucent’s 100G solution offers lower network complexity, operating costs and power consumption. This means Mobily can meet customers’ expectations for high-quality service delivery, while transferring massive amounts of data at superfast speeds over its network.

Nicolas Bouverot, VP Middle East - Alcatel-Lucent said: “Our successful trial with Mobily confirms our continued leadership in optical innovation. As service providers focus on speed and capacity, Alcatel-Lucent is driving the adoption of 100G as a proven and tested solution that will meet our customers’ network needs - today and as they evolve.”

Abdul Aziz Al Tamami, COO of Mobily said: “Mobily is committed to providing its customers with innovative communications solutions. The introduction of 100G will allow us to meet the ongoing business and entertainment broadband needs of both current and new customers as we continue to grow our subscriber base in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Alcatel-Lucent 100G solution used for the trial is part of its Converged Backbone Transformation (CBT) solution which integrates IP and optical transport technologies, and is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS).

About Mobily

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) was established in 2004 by a consortium led by Etisalat, the UAE based telecom conglomerate. Mobily is the official brand name of Etihad Etisalat, renowned as the second mobile service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The awarded 25-Year telecommunication mobile license was complemented by a subsequent purchase of a 3G license. Mobily is the 1st Saudi communications company to get an operation license for 3rd generation services and beyond. In December 2004, Mobily was listed on Tadawul Stock Exchange. Today, Mobily equates to 40%+ market share of the mobile subscriptions in the Kingdom. In March 2008, Mobily was granted approval by CITC (Communication and Information Technology Commission) to acquire Bayanat al-Oula which was a licensed Data Service Provider for a price of SAR 1.5 Billion. And, in November 2008, Mobily acquired absolute majority stakes in Zajil, the leading Saudi ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Mobily owns vast majority shares in the Saudi National Fiber Network (SNFN) composed with 12,800 KM of structured fiber cable, panned into 7 fully protected rings covering 35 Saudi cities plus access to 60 major hub sites for telecommunications prime points of presence, and complimented with 20 inter-metropolis fiber loops in major Saudi cities. Furthermore, Mobily is a lead investor in prime global submarine cable projects that are expected to be operational in the near future.

About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)

The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leader in mobile, fixed, IP and Optics technologies, and a pioneer in applications and services. Alcatel-Lucent includes Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost centres of research and innovation in communications technology.

With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach.

The Company achieved revenues of Euro 16 billion in 2010 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.

For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow the Company on Twitter: external linkhttp://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.