Alcatel signed an agreement with France Telecom to participate in the technological evolution and harmonization of their network to bring new services to their customers network-wide. The program will begin this summer and will extend over the next two years.

The 6,5 million lines will be connected to the most advanced subscriber access systems delivered by Alcatel. France Telecom will also introduce the next generation Alcatel 1000 MM into their subscriber network.

The Alcatel1000 MM system, using a packet technology in its core fabric and broadband interfaces, provides operators with high speed voice-data services as well as multimedia and Internet access. With a throughput of an equivalent of 16,000 2Mbit/s trunks the system will process the large volumes of Internet-generated traffic and xDSL-based multimedia applications in addition to handling high-added-value voice services. It operates in ATM and IP environments and provides for the integration of 2nd generation access systems already installed in France Telecom's network by Alcatel. It is also one of the infrastructure component of Alcatel's third-generation (3G) mobile phone networks.

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