Saudis Opt for Satellite Broadband

PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced the delivery of a ''DSL in-the-Sky'' broadband access satellite gateway and associated terminal equipment to the Almisehal Group of Saudi Arabia. The Almisehal Group will operate a broadband access service on behalf of the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC).

Via this contract, the Almisehal Group – which will be responsible of the satellite gateway operation, its support and all terminal equipment – will develop STC's broadband service provider business in Saudi Arabia. They will be able to offer Internet web browsing, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and e-learning services to schools, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and private homes throughout the Kingdom.

The Alcatel Space "DSL in-the-Sky" solution, based on the DVB-RCS standard supported by a number of CPE vendors, seamlessly integrates with DSL networks and management solutions proposed by Alcatel. It offers key services differentiators such as Quality of Service control, Service Level Agreement enforcement and VPN support.

Alcatel Space Chairman & CEO Pascale Sourisse said on this occasion, "I would like to express our thanks to Al-Misehal for their confidence. We firmly believe in the benefits of the broadband satellite access solution for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are convinced that Almisehal greatly benefits from Alcatel's expertise in both satellite and ADSL in order to offer competitive broadband services, including value-added services, customer management and seamless integration into the terrestrial networks".

Alcatel