Hanaro Telecom selects Alcatel-Lucent’s optical solution to enhance its network capacity in Korea

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) has signed a contract with Hanaro Telecom, a major broadband service provider in Korea, to support its network expansion. Alcatel-Lucent will supply its optical networking solution to increase Hanaro Telecom’s network capacity. This will enable Hanaro Telecom to accommodate its significant subscriber growth and the increased bandwidth requirements driven by the “hanaTV” video-on-demand (VOD) and “hanafos” high-speed data services. The project is scheduled for completion in the third quarter 2007.

“With the deployment of Alcatel-Lucent’s advanced optical network, we address our growing broadband traffic demands with enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” said Seung-Seog Lee, Chief Technology Officer at Hanaro Telecom “Upon completion, this project will allow us to deliver the most advanced services with the highest quality and reliability and to be prepared for deploying interactive IPTV service in the near future.”

“This contract further sustains the traction of our optical networking solutions in the Asia-Pacific region, where we have experienced significant growth over the past quarters,” said Frédéric Rose, President of Alcatel-Lucent activities in Asia-Pacific. “This achievement also confirms our commitment to assist our customers in their move to next-generation optical networks.”

Alcatel-Lucent’s solution is based on its 1626 Light Manager (LM), a multi-reach DWDM platform operating up to 40 Gbit/s, and 1353 Network Manager (NM), which enables easy and fast service provisioning and network management. Its rollout will further raise Hanaro Telecom’s network efficiency, ultimately reducing its operational costs. This new deployment fits with Hanaro Telecom’s plans to increase the flexibility and intelligence of its optical infrastructure, having already deployed Alcatel-Lucent’s 1678 Metro Core Connect (MCC) and data-aware Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) systems.

Alcatel-Lucent leads the Asia-Pacific multi-reach dense wavelength division-multiplexing (DWDM) segment with a 33% market share in the first quarter of 2007 according to Ovum-RHK. This new contract further strengthens the Alcatel-Lucent 1626 Light Manager (LM)’s customer base which includes China Telecom, Spark (Taiwan), Triple T Broadband (Thailand), DANTE, in the framework of the pan-European GEANT2 project, and RENATER (France) in the research and education field; Kazahktelecom, Telemar (Brazil), P&T Luxembourg with an ROADM-enabled solution.