Craig Wireless selects Alcatel-Lucent to Build WiMAX network in Palm Springs, California

First commercial deployment of Alcatel-Lucent’s WiMAX technology in North America



CTIA Wireless, Las Vegas, April 2008 — Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced it has been selected by Craig Wireless (TSX: CWG) to build a new WiMAX network - based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 (Rev-e) WiMAX standard - in Palm Springs, California. This is the first commercial deployment of Alcatel-Lucent’s WiMAX technology in North America.

Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide its end-to-end WiMAX Rev-e solution, including base stations, wireless access controllers and an operation and maintenance center (OMC). Alcatel-Lucent also will provide network design, planning, installation and optimization for end-to-end integration of the network, which will operate in the 2.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band.

“The Alcatel-Lucent solution will enable us to hit the ground running in our new Palm Springs market and seize immediate opportunities to serve our customers with new mobile services and applications,” said Boyd Craig, President and CEO of Craig Wireless Systems Ltd. “Our Palm Springs customers will be able to enjoy fast, reliable connections to the Internet anywhere they live, work or play.”

Alcatel-Lucent’s WiMAX Rev-e solution is designed to enable rapid implementation of voice over IP (VoIP) and broadband services such as high-speed Internet, video streaming and virtual private network (VPN) access in fixed, nomadic and mobile environments. WiMAX is a flexible technology that enables people to access high-speed, high-quality broadband wireless services wherever they are and wherever they go, providing an “always on” wireless broadband connection. Alcatel-Lucent’s Open CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) program will give Craig Wireless access to a large selection of the most advanced end-user devices to support its services.

“This first commercial deployment of Alcatel-Lucent’s WiMAX technology in North America underscores our commitment to WiMAX as a key element of our universal broadband access strategy,” said Cindy Christy, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Americas region. “We look forward to helping Craig Wireless launch a new technology for new services in a new market and in future markets as they expand internationally.

With more than 70 pilots and deployments across the world and 22 commercial contracts signed since the beginning of 2007, Alcatel-Lucent is No. 1 in the worldwide WiMAX market.

Alcatel-Lucent’s Universal WiMAX solution integrates the latest technological innovations, such as “beam forming”* and MIMO**. Beam forming enables a service provider to dramatically reduce the number of radio sites needed to provide coverage – in some instances by as much as 40 percent – while reducing interference and ensuring better indoor penetration of the radio signal. MIMO helps make radio links more robust, nearly doubling the capacity delivered in dense urban environments.


* “Beam forming” is an Advanced Antenna Technology (AAT) that ensures that radio power is concentrated where the WiMAX terminals are, adjusting the beam automatically as the terminals move around the coverage area.
** “MIMO” (Multiple Input – Multiple Output) is an Advanced Antenna Technology (AAT) that combines the radio signals transmitted and received on separate antennas. The technique takes advantage of the multiple paths and reflections of a radio signal, in effect using interference to strengthen radio communications, particularly in densely populated areas where signals can be degraded by buildings and other physical obstacles.