AgustaWestland cuts costs by 20% in eighteen months with Alcatel telephony solution

Paris, January 9, 2006 - Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA AND NYSE: ALA) announced today that AgustaWestland, a global leader in helicopter manufacturing, has cut costs by 20% and improved business efficiency and network resilience since deploying Alcatel’s OmniPCX Enterprise communications platform. The installation, which was carried out by Echo/ttml, an Alcatel premium business partner, involved replacing the existing legacy infrastructure with a new telephone network, which would provide ease of management, streamlined costs, and minimized downtime for the company’s 4,000 users. Being closely linked to the Ministry of Defense (MoD), the integrity of AgustaWestland’s on-site communication is vital. The Alcatel solution is fully secure and can be upgraded to IP at the company’s own pace.

AgustaWestland’s 4,000 UK users are based in Yeovil, Somerset on a site that comprises approximately 100 buildings spread over a large area. Previously, AgustaWestland incurred substantial operating costs for use of an unreliable network that had failed for more than 24 hours on several occasions over a two-year period. After initially outsourcing the network, AgustaWestland decided to invest in a new infrastructure that the company could own and maintain itself. After evaluating technology from several vendors, it decided to implement the Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise with Echo/ttml also providing Alcatel’s OmniVista management console to enable centralized control.

“Our old network was extremely unreliable, and when the previous system went down, everyone was affected. We required a solution that would give us high availability at a low cost,” said Richard Cranton, IT manager, AgustaWestland. “Since the implementation of Alcatel’s OmniPCX Enterprise solution, not only have we seen substantial cost savings, but there have been no user complaints about the system’s availability, which represents a huge improvement.”

AgustaWestland now has a fully redundant telephony network with greatly increased resilience. Linking three Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprises over a fiber infrastructure means the company will never lose more than one third of its network at any time. Moreover, AgustaWestland no longer has to outsource its network, which has generated substantial cost-savings. Xerox Global Services provides ongoing network management, while Echo/ttml continues to work with the company, offering consultation, support and additional carrier services.

“The design and network topology make this a completely flexible solution,” said Steve Potter, account director, Echo/ttml. “Alcatel can provide all the functionality of IP telephony on a non-IP infrastructure, setting it apart from other vendors. In addition, we can offer value-add services, such as voice conferencing and free minutes for fixed/mobile calls, to give enterprises a real migration path towards IP communications.”

“An installation of this size is always a challenge, particularly given the tight timeframe and changing customer requirements,” said John Middleton, telecoms manager, Xerox Global Services. “However, the project has been well managed from the off, and we’ve received excellent support from Echo/ttml.”

“While IP telephony uptake in the UK continues to increase, it is clear that not all organizations are ready or able to upgrade, and it is vital that these end-users are not ignored by telephony vendors,” said Peter Tebbutt, UK marketing director, Alcatel. “Alcatel has proven that it can meet the requirements of differing customer business models. With its IP-ready platform, it offers flexible solutions to organizations of all sizes.”

About AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland is an Anglo-Italian helicopter company owned by Finmeccanica, Italy’s leading high-tech company. AgustaWestland is unique in the marketplace with its unrivalled capability in design, technical innovation, manufacturing, training and customer support. AgustaWestland has more than 8,500 employees worldwide, and recognises the challenge of continuing to delight customers, while strengthening its position as the global leader in the rotorcraft industry. For more information, visit AgustaWestland on the Internet: www.agustawestland.com

About Echo/ttml
Echo/ttml is recognised as one of the UK’s most experienced communications solutions integrators. Its vision is to connect end-user staff, systems, and data with their customers. Echo/ttml offers a single, fully independent partner with an extensive product portfolio, put together in conjunction with carefully selected vendors. This enables it to provide fully supported solutions that can be tailored according to end-user requirements. For more information, visit Echo/ttml on the Internet: www.echocomms.co.uk

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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Mark Burnworth

Alcatel

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