SaskTel selects Alcatel to enhance triple play services on converged IP infrastructure

Paris, June 1, 2006 – Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced that SaskTel, one of Canada’s most progressive full service communications companies, has selected Alcatel’s triple play solution to enhance its Internet and entertainment services across the province of Saskatchewan. The value of the project is 35 million Canadian dollars (EUR 24,8 million), and deployment will begin in the second quarter of 2006.

SaskTel’s Max™ Entertainment Services currently include high-speed Internet access, television, radio and music channels access, as well as Video on Demand (VoD). SaskTel will deploy Alcatel’s IP portfolio and access solutions as part of its Next Generation Access Infrastructure initiative to provide bandwidth of up to 40 Mbps and enable new services such as high definition TV and voice over IP (VoIP).

In addition, the Alcatel solution will enable SaskTel to converge its business and consumer services onto a single next generation IP infrastructure allowing the service provider to achieve economies of scale and maximize the profitability of services. In order to profitably meet the needs of urban and rural customers dispersed over a wide geography, SaskTel’s network infrastructure must be capable of delivering a broad menu of advanced services in a cost-optimized and scalable manner.

Collapsing existing overlay networks onto a consolidated IP infrastructure will enable SaskTel to offer enhanced triple play services as well as IP-based enterprise services such as VPN, transparent LAN and VoIP thus generating new revenue opportunities. With streamlined and simplified network management tools, SaskTel will also benefit from significant operational savings.

“By leveraging Alcatel’s IP and broadband technology, SaskTel can offer even more advanced business and entertainment services to our customers,” said Robert Watson, President and CEO of SaskTel. “Implementing Alcatel’s leading-edge solutions gives us the business and technology tools we need to compete and to offer subscribers a full slate of converged services – everything from high definition TV to VPN to VoIP.”

“SaskTel is a leading communications service provider who is a pioneer in entertainment and Internet service delivery in Canada, and we look forward to playing a key role in this initiative,” said Hubert de Pesquidoux, Executive Vice President and President of Alcatel’s North American activities. “With the support of Alcatel, SaskTel customers will have greater access to an even broader variety of entertainment and business services.”

The Alcatel solution includes its 7750 Service Router and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, and will be managed by the Alcatel 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM). SaskTel will also deploy the Alcatel 7330 ISAM fiber-to-the-node (FTTN), which supports VDSL2 technology to address high bandwidth applications such as HDTV. The Alcatel 5526 Access Management System (AMS) will provide remote network support, provisioning, database backup and performance monitoring. SaskTel will also deploy Alcatel’s iNSIGHT Service Assurance solution to provide enhanced end-to-end customer service assurance across the entire network.

The contract further reinforces the partnership between SaskTel and Alcatel, which already supplied its IP/MPLS, optical and access solutions as well as its middleware platform for TV services.


About SaskTel
SaskTel employs over 3,800 people in communities throughout Saskatchewan and is the leading full service communications provider in the province. It offers competitive voice, data, internet, entertainment and multimedia services, web hosting, text and messaging services over a state-of-the-art digital network. The Corporation also provides cellular and wireless data services, security monitoring services, directory services, in-room communications services to the healthcare sector through Hospitality Network, telecommunications consulting service through SaskTel International and national communications services through Navigata Communications. Visit SaskTel at www.sasktel.com.

About Alcatel’s user-centric triple play
To meet today’s quest for increased personalized and interactive services, Alcatel helps worldwide operators transform their networks and deliver a new end-user experience. Alcatel’s user-centric triple play builds on its leadership in broadband technology, IP networking, optics, new multimedia and video applications, as well as end-to-end services integration. End-users will enjoy unique, exciting services including video on demand, personal TV, community channels, online gaming and sharing of music, photos and home videos, all delivered simply and seamlessly via a range of devices and networks. Alcatel is currently involved in more that 40 triple play network projects worldwide including AT&T/SBC, BellSouth, France Telecom, Swisscom, Telecom Italia and Chunghwa Telecom…
For more information: http://www.alcatel.com/tripleplay

About Alcatel
Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world. With sales of EURO 13.1 billion and 58,000 employees in 2005, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com

Contact Information

Mark Burnworth

Corporate Media Relations

Alcatel

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