PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA), world leaderin intelligent optical networking, and Sumitomo Electric Industries, aleading global supplier of optical fiber, cable and components for thetelecommunications industry, have signed a cross-licensing agreement foroptical fibers and cables, including collaboration on the processes used bythe two companies to produce fiber. Specific terms of the agreement werenot disclosed.Alcatel will draw on Sumitomo’s strong patents in Dispersion CompensatingFiber (DCF) technologies, an area in which Alcatel is rapidly growing. Asoperators increase their network reach and capacity by upgrading theirsystems from today’s 2.5 Gb/s to 10 Gb/s and beyond, dispersioncompensation becomes a critical necessity to ensure optimal performance.DCF’s optical properties compensate for the degradation of signals(dispersion), which naturally occurs in fibers over long distances, highbit rate transmission. DCF is a specialty fiber and is packaged intoDispersion Compensation Modules (DCM).Sumitomo will have access to Alcatel’s leading patents in the area ofNon-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber (NZ-DSF). Sumitomo’s NZ-DSF fiber,PureGuideTM, is based on Alcatel’s TeraLight (TM) fibers. As a result ofAlcatel’s recent introduction of two new fibers, TeraLight Ultra andTeraLight Metro, Sumitomo will now be able to provide their customers witha more comprehensive range of advanced fiber solutions. These fibers aredesigned for future 10 to 40 Gb/s systems and beyond, optimizingperformance in long-haul, ultra long-haul, and metropolitan applications.

Alcatel SA Sumitomo Corp.