Alcatel Does Italy

PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) officially launched its latest-born 3G Reality Centre in Milan, Italy, today. This unique facility is part of Alcatel’s worldwide program which offers a live and comprehensive end-to-end network environment open to operators, content and services providers and dedicated to the development, validation and testing of the most exciting next generation mobile applications and services.

The Italian 3G Reality Centre, powered by Alcatel’s industry-leading Evolium™ global mobile solution, is intended to be particularly significant because of the very high density of mobile users in Italy (over 50 million SIM cards) and because Italy is one of the very first countries to have launched 3G/UMTS services in Europe.

In addition, leveraging on Alcatel Italy’s valuable experience through its already existing two competence Centres dedicated to UMTS and multimedia broadband services, the Alcatel’s 3G Reality Centre in Milan will represent an opportunity to investigate the potential of fixed-mobile convergence.

Alcatel’s 3GRC in Milan is featuring a broad range of mobile video solutions, spread over two segments: video content delivery (video streaming, video downloading, video push), and video communication (video messaging, video telephony, video conferencing, video mailbox). The 3G Reality Centre in Milan is particularly focusing on real time video streaming and broadcasting enabling download optimization and video surveillance applications.

By partnering with key Italian mobile operators and solution providers, Alcatel will foster development for a new level of GPRS/UMTS services and applications.

On the occasion of the official opening ceremony, Samy Gattegno, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel in Italy declared: "The growth in mobile communications market in the coming years will depend on the development of multimedia services that can bring value to all the relevant players in the new value chain. The 3G Reality Centre in Milan will benefit from Alcatel’s experience as key player in fixed broadband to leverage advanced mobile multimedia services. I believe that the 3G Reality Centre in Milan will offer almost endless possibilities of services and partnerships for successful mobile solutions on the Italian market."

In a separate release:

Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced it signed an agreement in Italy with Pirelli to integrate the innovative optoelectronic module developed by Pirelli Labs and Telecom Italia Lab in its Evolium™ multi-standard remote radio units solution. This solution will reduce the deployment costs of 3G networks while taking into account the electromagnetic environment.

Evolving from a centralized Base Station platform architecture to the concept of multiple distributed radio access points all connected to one common central unit, the Alcatel Evolium™ multi-standard radio solution will integrate the optoelectronic module developed by Pirelli labs. It will allow a smooth physical split between the central unit and multiple remote radio access heads by re-using existing optical fiber transmission.

As a natural precursor of such initiatives as OBSAI* and CPRI**, the Alcatel Evolium™ multi-standard base station architecture already integrates today a digital interface between the Processing part and the Radio part. This agreement is part of the Alcatel co-operation initiated early 2003 with Pirelli, aiming at the re-use of existing optical infrastructure in Italy for UMTS deployment.

Integrating the "Radio over Fiber" solution of Pirelli will provide Alcatel with a significant competitive advantage when compared with other available solutions in the marketplace, allowing increased cost efficiency and easier combination of multiple access technologies in mobile networks. In addition the Alcatel Evolium™ solution will make site acquisition easier, allowing to re-use existing 2G sites for 3G, while simplifying the operation and maintenance of hybrid networks.

"This solution was developed thanks to intuitions and skill of our Labs: it’s a worldwide innovation and it represents first commercial product originating from the laboratories," said Mr. Mauro Sacchetto, Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli Telecom Systems. "This new optoelectronic module, developed in strict cooperation with Alcatel, will enable mobile operators using Evolium™ solution to benefit from more efficient equipment, that will reduce their deployment costs and help them take into account the electromagnetic environment of the stations."

Samy Gattegno, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel in Italy adds "This is a solution that will allow Alcatel to help mobile operators to more flexibly expand their 3G networks. The solution we developed together with Pirelli provides operators with more adaptable ways to take into account the base stations environment when deploying their networks. It also paves the way for future mobile networks combining multiple access technologies."

Alcatel SA

Pirelli SpA