Alcatel-Lucent and Telstra to deliver Australia’s largest business network – The Telstra Next IP™ network

Telstra Corporation Limited and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that they have reached a critical milestone in the roll-out of Telstra’s next generation Internet Protocol (IP) network (the Telstra Next IP™ network), by successfully deploying close to 900,000 IP DSLAM (ISAM) ports.

A critical piece in the Telstra Next IP™ network, Alcatel-Lucent’s ISAM provides higher speed capability of up to 24 Mbps and opens up the potential for a new range of triple play based services.

Alcatel-Lucent is one of Telstra’s strategic suppliers and the end-to-end network integrator for the first phase of their wireline transformation project, which has established the largest business network in Australia, servicing 95 per cent of businesses.

“The Telstra Next IP™ network, coupled with Telstra’s Next G™ wireless network, creates a platform that will transform communications for Australian businesses and governments,” said Telstra Executive Managing Director of Network & Technology, Mr Dan Burns. “The Telstra Next IP™ network further demonstrates Telstra’s commitment to investment in high-speed broadband access in Australia under the right regulatory settings.”

“This has been an impressive team effort from both Telstra and Alcatel-Lucent to deploy and integrate close to 900,000 ISAMs ports,” says Frédéric Rose, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s activities in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. “The rapid integration of our IP DSLAM into Telstra’s IP network provides them with a future-proof solution offering greater scalability and access speeds as well as enhanced services.”

Alcatel-Lucent remains the uncontested market leader in broadband access with more than 142 million DSL lines shipped at the end of 2Q 2007. More than 165 customers have adopted the ISAM product family globally – including 80% of the top 20 DSL operators in the world.