Alcatel demonstrates Europe’s first live Mobile TV in S-band

Paris, November 28, 2006 - Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) announced today the successful demonstration of Europe’s first broadcast of live TV channels on mobile handsets in S-band. The demonstration took place in Alcatel’s UK premises. It is using the new DVB-SH standard (Satellite services for Handhelds), which is currently being drafted by the DVB Project. To perform this demonstration, Alcatel was assisted by UK broadcasters Sky, ITV and BBC.

Representatives from European mobile operators, TV broadcasters, industry analyst firms and regulatory bodies attending this demonstration were able to enjoy high quality images displayed on SAGEM myMobileTV handsets. These terminals are using the S-band telecom frequency between 2.17GHz and 2.20GHz, which is adjacent to the 3G/UMTS band. 30MHz of spectrum is currently available all across Europe and in other major regions in the world.

DVB-SH is a new technology targeting the S-band. DVB-SH is a related standard to DVB-H. With DVB-SH technology, Mobile TV signals can be broadcast from satellites as well as from terrestrial transmitters directly to handhelds. DVB-SH handhelds can be designed in such a way that they become compatible with DVB-H so that both standards can be received in one end-user terminal.

In addition, Alcatel demonstrated two possible key technical features using the DVB-SH standard. Reception Antenna Diversity, a feature using two antennas inside the same mobile device, enables improvements in the signal quality under difficult conditions. Furthermore, improved Time Interleaving overcomes fading impairment in mobility conditions. The significant quality enhancement was demonstrated by implementing these DVB-SH features.

On the occasion of this demonstration, Professor Ulrich Reimers, Chairman of the Technical Module of DVB Project declared: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to witness a live Mobile TV demonstration in the S-band even before the new Mobile TV standard has been finally designed. Within the DVB -Project, we have decided to give that standard a new name - DVB-SH - digital video broadcast from satellite for handhelds. DVB-SH is a perfect complement to other standards, such as DVB-H, which is typically using UHF frequencies but is capable of using the L-band. Thus DVB-SH may have a significant impact on the global Mobile TV industry.”

Olivier Coste, President of Alcatel’s mobile broadcast activities concluded: “Quality of Service is essential for operators to attract and retain Mobile TV users. Today, we demonstrated that high quality live Mobile TV using the S-band works. This can be up and running commercially very soon. With the additional benefits of universal indoor and countrywide coverage, the fundamentals of our solution are already solid enough to enable operators to profit from sustainable Mobile TV market growth thanks to the S-band.”

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

About Alcatel’s “Unlimited Mobile TV” solution
The goal of Alcatel’s “Unlimited Mobile TV” solution is to make television available on mobile phones and other devices throughout rural and urban areas, including indoors, with a wide range of programming options and excellent image quality, regardless of the number of viewers simultaneously watching the same program. This universal broadcast coverage is possible thanks to the unique combination of a high-power geo-stationary satellite for cost-effective nationwide coverage and a network of low power repeaters, co-located with mobile base stations, to provide urban and indoor coverage. This innovative solution uses DVB-SH, an evolution of the DVB-H standard in the 2 GHz MSS band, a telecom frequency band between 2.17 and 2.2 GHz associated with satellite usage, which is adjacent to the 3G/UMTS band. This 30MHz band is currently available all across Europe. For more information: www.alcatel.com/mobiletv

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Mark Burnworth

Corporate Media Relations

Alcatel

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