French Deploy in Scotland

PARIS -- Alcatel, (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) the world leader in broadband access has signed an agreement with omne communications Ltd, a digital broadband TV cable provider in the South West of Scotland and Northern England, to deploy a high-speed network. This state of the art network is based on the Alcatel flagship asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) - based multiservice platform and Litespan 1540. The agreement will extend new services to 325,000 homes and 25,000 businesses in a part of the country that has to date been bypassed by the rollout of broadband. Using Alcatel's network, omne will deliver a total portfolio of communications services ranging from traditional voice to the cost-effective aggregation, transmission and routing of broadband DSL (digital subscriber line) traffic via ATM. DSL will enable omne's customers to access the Internet at broadband speed - fifty times faster than dial-up. Ian Renshaw, omne's Chief Executive Officer said "We chose Alcatel because of their expertise in this area, and so that we can ensure our customers are provided with a cost effective and reliable service." Alcatel SA Omne Communications Ltd.