Alcatel in on VOIP Test

PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced its participation in the Global Multiservice Switching Forum Interoperability 2004 Test (GMI 2004), which connects four carrier sites around the world over a next generation network based on equipment from more than 40 vendors. Reinforcing its commitment to multi-vendor interoperability, Alcatel will feature an end-to-end Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution deployed in the test network that spans carrier sites in Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. Successful interoperability between equipment vendors is an important step toward widespread adoption of standards-based IP telephony by tier one carriers.

"Alcatel has the most resilient, service-oriented VoIP solution in the industry," said Michel Rahier, chief operating officer of Alcatel's fixed communications activities. "The GMI 2004 interop tests allow us to showcase how new user-centric voice and multimedia services can be delivered across IP networks while ensuring the highest quality of service and attention to end-user needs."

GMI 2004 takes place October 4-16, and is being hosted by British Telecom (BT), Korea Telecom (KT), Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) and Qwest.

Alcatel's participation highlights its solution for the growing demand for user-centric services, wherein users can enjoy virtually any service, from any location, on any device while benefiting from a single consistent personal profile. This profile contains communication, content and connectivity criteria unique to an individual user - such as numbers, preferences, presence, billing and payment options, service subscriptions, authentication and the like. The primary objective of GMI 2004 is to demonstrate that the networks required to facilitate these dynamic new services are ready-for-deployment, and already include the necessary management, enhanced Quality of Service (QoS), interoperability and security features that carriers are looking for.

Alcatel SA

Multiservice Switching Forum