PHOENIX -- Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU), and Alpha Telecom, a designer and manufacturer of next generation network (NGN) customer premises equipment, today announced that they will jointly market solutions that together will bridge the gap between traditional voice networks and today's Internet-protocol (IP) infrastructures. The two companies recently demonstrated interoperability between the Lucent iMerge(TM) Centrex Feature Gateway (CFG) and Alpha Telecom's Arion 1004 ISDN Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) Gateway and Arion 2004 P-Phone VoIP Gateway. In addition, the companies agreed to jointly market these solutions for the Internet telephony marketplace by offering customers a complementary VoIP solution in Centrex environments. "Using a standards-compliant interface like the Arion 1004 and 2004, as well as a highly robust set of VoIP endpoints, iMerge(TM) CFG allows a variety of end-user applications, including multi- location Centrex and virtual office capabilities for road warriors and teleworkers," said Ken Arndt, vice president of marketing and sales support at Lucent subsidiary AG Communication Systems. "Alpha Telecom's Arion family of VoIP Gateways will offer customers Centrex features over their IP backbone. Our high- performance design, combined with ease of installation, offers the best solution available today for companies planning on migrating from traditional circuit switching to packet switching," said Sid Sung, president of Alpha Telecom. Lucent Technologies Inc.Alpha Telecom Inc. USA