Alcatel Alenia Space partners with UNESCO and ESA on SpaceForScience program

Paris, November 9, 2005 - Alcatel Alenia Space today announced its partnership with UNESCO (United nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and ESA (European Space Agency) in the frame of the SpaceForScience program, aimed at providing telecommunication and multimedia satellite services for Education and Research Institutes in South Eastern Europe.

SpaceForScience program facilitates the scientific and technical cooperation within various scientific communities (computer science, biology, agriculture and earth science) in Europe and especially in Southern and Eastern Europe*. Using satellite technology, scientific institutions members of the program are able to benefit from new services such as video conferencing, collaborative environment and video streaming.

Based on latest IP and bi-directional DVB-RCS (Digital Video Broadcast - Return Channel System) satellite telecommunication standards, the program provides added value broadband services via a satellite applications platform provided and hosted by Alcatel Alenia Space’s premises in Cannes. Alcatel Alenia Space is responsible for the deployment of the global network, from the applications platform to the user sites.

Pascale Sourisse, President and CEO of Alcatel Alenia Space said: “Alcatel Alenia Space was eager to provide broadband satellite connectivity to the scientific community within the UNESCO initiative. This technology enables to provide broadband access and added value applications to isolated institutions and enhance the cooperation in Europe. In a second step, this program can be replicated and enlarged to benefit other countries in the world.”

SpaceForScience is part of the UNESCO initiative to strengthen scientific cooperation in South-East Europe which was launched by the UNESCO office in Venice in 2001. It is a project co-financed with the help and support of ESA in the frame of the ARTES III (Advanced Research in Telecommunication Systems) program.

* Of which Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and Turkey.

About Alcatel Alenia Space
Alcatel Alenia Space, leader in satellite systems and at the forefront of orbit infrastructures, brings together the vast experience and know-how of Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio to form a new leading force in European space technology. Alcatel Alenia Space represents a worldwide standard for space development that impacts everybody’s future: from navigation to telecommunications, from meteorology to environmental monitoring, from defence to science and observation. An affiliate of Alcatel (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), Alcatel Alenia Space generated an estimated turnover of 1.8 billion euros with around 7,200 people in 2004.

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 12.3 billion and 56,000 employees in 2004, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.

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Aurélie Boutin-Guezennec

Paris Hq Corporate Press Department

Alcatel

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