Orange Picks Lucent for ATM

LONDON -- Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today announced that it has won a multi-million dollar contract with Orange in the UK to provide solutions and services that will boost the capacity of its ATM Access Transport network. The network enhancements will support increases in the volume of voice, video, and data traffic and significantly reduce operational costs as Orange rolls out its third-generation (3G) service offerings. Lucent is providing Orange UK with PacketStar(R) (PSAX) 2300, and 4500 Multiservice Media Gateway systems to provision the aggregation and management of all 3G interface traffic (voice, data and video). The new platforms will also consolidate traffic management for existing 2G services within the same infrastructure, offering Orange significant reductions in operational expenditure. "We were very impressed by the flexibility, scalability and competitiveness of the PacketStar(R) (PSAX) solutions against other products in the marketplace," said Graham Baxter, head of Network Design and Systems Infrastructure for Orange in the UK. "Supported by the expertise of the Lucent professional services organisation, Lucent was an ideal partner to work with on this project." Delivering up to 10Gbs of switching capacity, the PacketStar(R)(PSAX) Multiservice Media Gateways offer the highest port capacity per inch of any product of its type on the market today. This is vitally important for mobile operators where space at network edge sites is often very limited. The scalability in the PacketStar(R) (PSAX) gateways enable Orange's infrastructure to support increased voice and data traffic generated from new services and additional subscribers. In addition, Lucent Worldwide Services, the services arm of Lucent Technologies, is working with Orange to provide integration and testing facilities to ensure a smooth transition of this solution into the Orange network. Lucent is supplying Navis(TM) AQueView(TM), an element management system which allows a highly scalable, permanent centralised or regional management point where the network solution can be easily monitored, provisioned and controlled. "We are excited to continue our relationship with Orange and provide them with advanced solutions that will make their network more efficient, while reducing network costs substantially," said Carlos Mira, president Mobility Europe for Lucent Technologies. "The Lucent PacketStar(R) (PSAX) technology makes this possible and offers a flexible, high-performance solution for Orange as they further develop their ATM infrastructure to support the rollout of exciting new 3G services for their subscribers" Lucent Technologies Inc.