BANGALORE, India -- Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today announced the establishment of a Bell Labs Research centre in India which will pursue the kind of basic and applied research in communications software that has made the R&D laboratory famous around the world.

Mr. Kapil Sibal, Hon' Minister for Science & Technology and Ocean Development inaugurated the research center and addressed a select gathering of industry and academia at the inauguration function. Mr. Sam Pitroda, Guest of Honor for the ceremony delivered the keynote address.

The Bangalore based facility will be an integral part of Bell Labs, Lucent's world-renowned research and development arm. Bell Labs scientists have received six Nobel Prizes in Physics, nine US Medals of Science and eight U.S. Medals of Technology. Bell Labs earns at least two patents a day and was granted its 30,000th US patent on March 10, 2003.

The scientists at Bell Labs Research in India will focus on developing state-of-the-art software systems for enabling the world's leading wireline and wireless service providers to deploy and manage high-speed, highly reliable networks. Example focus areas include:

Dr. Jeff Jaffe, President, Research and Advanced Technologies, Bell Labs said: "Establishing a Bell Labs Research center in India signifies Lucent's commitment to creating a long-term presence here. The scientists at this facility will be members of the elite Bell Labs research community. We expect them to contribute fundamental advances to our understanding of how to build, monitor and manage the most complex and interactive global communications networks."

Dr. Rajeev Rastogi, Executive Director, Bell Labs Research in India said, "Our focus will be on conducting fundamental and applied research in scientific fields related to computing and communications software. We will also partner closely with Lucent's customers as they deploy new technologies (e.g., wireless data, EVDO), and devise innovative solutions to their challenges." He added, "In the tradition of Bell Labs, we intend to attract and excite the best and brightest minds produced by India's world-class educational institutions." Rajeev Rastogi will report to Krishan Sabnani, Sr. Vice President of Networking Research at Bell Labs, who also attended today's ceremony.

Mr. C S Rao, President and CEO of Lucent Technologies in India said, "Bringing Bell Labs Research to India is a major accomplishment. It is a welcome development of Lucent's presence in India that takes us to an exciting world of research to deliver a continuous stream of software innovations to Lucent's products and services portfolio."

Lucent Technologies Inc.