PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) is coordinating the European UnionMUSE Research and Development project, which groups an international consortium of 30 partners.The objective of MUSE (MUlti Service access Everywhere) is research and development of a futurelow-cost, multi-service access and edge network, enabling the delivery of broadband services toevery European citizen. Innovative access architecture and functions will be investigated which willallow the European telecommunications industry to offer services such as e-learning, teleworking,videoconferencing, gaming, or video-on-demand in a scalable and cost-effective way.

“Broadband is a key enabler of the information society and economy” says Niel Ransom, ChiefTechnology Officer, Alcatel. “As the worldwide leader in Broadband access, we are proud tocoordinate this project, aiming to develop the technologies which will ensure an even wideravailability for broadband access to every citizen across the European Union, even in low-densityareas.”

In a separate release:

Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced that it hassuccessfully completed a business consultancy project for Guangdong Telecom, a subsidiary ofChina Telecom, to help the service provider grow its broadband business in the corporate and SMEsegments.

This project encompassed a customer survey, business modeling analysis, market segmentation andpositioning studies, spanning four major industrial cities in Guandong province: Guangzhou,Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan. Moreover, Alcatel provided Guangdong Telecom with marketresearch insights on worldwide best practices in operations, especially in service provisioning andassurance. Upon completion of the project, the service provider was able to devise a comprehensivebusiness plan to market its broadband services in Guangdong province in 2004.Alcatel provides business consultancy services in broadband access to telecom opera tors worldwide.This consultative marketing program leverages Alcatel’s expertise and knowledge gained in differentmarkets around the world to support its customers to grow their broadband business. Under thisprogram, Alcatel also provides strategic advice to service providers in a number of fields, includingoverall strategy, marketing and business modeling, operations, and organization.

“As a market leader in broadband access with global coverage, we are in the position to leverageour experience and knowledge to assist operators in the deployment of broadband services,” saidMichel Rahier, Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel’s fixed communication activities. ”So far, we haveconducted consultancy projects with more than 40 operators world-wide.”

With a global DSL market share of 37%, and a total of more than 39.2 million DSL lines shipped,Alcatel holds the leading position within the broadband access market.

Alcatel SA