Alcatel selected by Optimus to deploy an end to end interactive mobile TV solution in Portugal

Paris, November 21, 2006 - Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced it has been selected by Optimus, the mobile operator owned by the Portuguese Sonaecom group, to provide them with a turnkey end-to-end interactive mobile TV solution. This solution enables Optimus to operate an innovative mobile TV service to address the booming mobile TV market, while enhancing its subscribers experience with personalized mobile TV programs.

Optimus will offer its end-users a first-class and innovative mobile TV experience, leveraging Alcatel’s leading edge encoding and streaming technology delivering superior video and audio quality optimized for mobile handsets, key features such as rich-media players with smart navigation, build-in channel subscription options, fast channel zapping and electronic program guide (EPG). This set of innovative functionalities places Optimus as one worldwide leader in this market.

Key differentiators of Alcatel’s fast channel zapping feature includes its high quality of service, ensuring that Optimus mobile users enjoy the best all round quality viewing with a fast response time when flicking channels. The capability of zapping seamlessly and rapidly between mobile TV channels gives the same benefits and ease of use to mobile users that the “remote control” brought to traditional TV. It will greatly enhance the quality of end-user experience and dramatically increase the usage of mobile TV.

Luis Reis, Chief Operating Officer, Sonaecom, declared: “With this partnership Optimus will be able to pioneer the most advanced and innovative service in Portugal in the mobile TV arena. Alcatel’s commitment and capabilities to fully address all Optimus requirements for such innovative service and it’s extended experience with mobile TV in Europe has amply demonstrated Alcatel’s credentials as the best in breed partner for mobile TV solutions.”

“We are proud to be part of the Optimus mobile TV project, the first operator in Portugal to launch Mobile TV with such enhanced quality of service for the end user that will differentiate the brand and bring revenue growth”, commented Jean-Michel Cornille, President of Alcatel’s mobile solutions activities. “This new mobile TV project with Optimus is further evidence of Alcatel’s strong leadership position and growing footprint in this space. For mobile operators, interactive mobile TV is a key application to drive 3G usage upwards. Furthermore, in countries such as Portugal where the mobile penetration rate is very high*, mobile TV is a fantastic opportunity for TV broadcasters to increase the coverage of their programs and attract a new audience.”

Alcatel’s mobile TV solution can be further enhanced with advanced interactivity features already embedded in the solution, which would give Optimus’ customers access to a range of interactive services linked to the on-going TV programs, thereby providing the opportunity for cross-selling actions and additional revenues for the operator.

Alcatel has the unique capability to address the complexity of mobile TV technologies and ecosystems to help operators, broadcasters and content owners alike to increase their revenues with differentiating and innovative multimedia services. Alcatel’s music and video solutions have already been adopted by more than 80 mobile operators in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America to enable their mobile video, music and live TV services.

This partnership between Alcatel and Optimus leads to the launching of a innovative rich-media player, and both companies are willing to cooperate to maintain an attractive and leading offer on the mobile TV area, preparing together new set of functionalities for the near future.

* 2005 mobile penetration rate in Portugal = 111%, source: Omsyc, May 2006.


About Optimus
From its beginning in 1998, Optimus has been steadily growing in the Portuguese market, having in view a sole objective: to be the leader in the Portuguese telecom market, providing its Customers with high-quality services and mobile phones that improve people’s lives because they simplify, bring near and amuse. At the end of 2004, Optimus had already over 2.1 million customers. Optimus is the only mobile communications company in the world to have won three consecutive GSM Awards, a distinction that reinforces its international recognition. In Portugal, the new operator has also won a number of important awards. Its technological excellence has also been recognised by the Institute of Communications of Portugal by means of the results of a survey carried out by the sector regulator regarding the quality of mobile networks in Portugal. By constantly launching new products and services in the Portuguese market – mobile portals, SMS news services, entertainment services, GPRS services – Optimus is also the leader in terms of the usage of new technologies. For more information, please visit the website: www.optimus.pt

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

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Mark Burnworth

Corporate Media Relations

Alcatel

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