MADRID, Spain -- Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU - News) and Telefonica Group today announced that the two companies have reached a strategic agreement under which Lucent will support Telefonica's IPTV service rollouts worldwide. The agreement was signed today (Wednesday, April 19) in Miami, Florida by Telefonica's Chairman and CEO Cesar Alierta and Lucent's Chairman and CEO Patricia Russo.

Under the agreement Lucent will assume responsibility for the future development and deployment of Telefonica's "Imagenio" IPTV middleware platform, including the ongoing introduction of new features and capabilities; Lucent also will market the platform to the broader, global service provider community. In support of this effort, Lucent will establish IPTV research and development centers -- linked to Bell Labs -- in the Spanish cities of Madrid and Huesca (Aragon), as well as in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo for Latin American markets. In addition, Lucent Worldwide Services, the company's services arm, will serve as the prime network integrator for Telefonica's end- to-end, multivendor IPTV solution, initially in markets including Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic and Spain. The project will be extended to include additional countries in the future.

"This comprehensive agreement will help Telefonica remain a leading provider of innovative IPTV services," said Vicente San Miguel, general director of Infrastructure and Information Systems, Telefonica Group. "Lucent has proven to be an exceptional partner as we launched and expanded our 'Imagenio' IPTV service in Spain, where we are now supporting more than 250,000 customers. We look forward to continuing this fruitful relationship as we take this successful service to additional market and introduce innovative new multimedia features, leveraging the power of the IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS."

Telefonica's Imagenio IPTV service is one of the world's leading commercial IPTV service offerings, providing all-digital, DVD-quality delivery of TV and audio content to subscribers in Spain. Imagenio's interactive video-on-demand service enables subscribers to watch movies, documentaries, concerts, TV shows and newscasts at any time of day, and features DVD-like controls (including play, stop, fast forward, rewind, pause, automatic language selection).

"Lucent is thrilled to expand our collaboration with Telefonica, a clear leader in the IPTV industry, and we appreciate the opportunity to help Telefonica build on its successes to date and bring enhanced IPTV and other multimedia services to its customers in Europe and Latin America," said Rob Piconi, vice president and general manager, Broadband Solutions, Lucent Technologies. "Lucent also is excited to bring this successful IPTV offering to customers around the world, helping Telefonica and others offer subscribers truly compelling, personalized services that go beyond simple TV, creating an exciting new multimedia experience for end-users."

Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU)