PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced it has been selected by Telstra as the equipment provider for the launch of their commercial Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) pilot in Queensland, Australia, following extensive lab trials of Alcatel's FTTP solution.

While existing broadband solutions deliver multimedia services such as on-line gaming, music and video streaming and video-on-demand, the virtually unlimited capacity of fibre supports even more bandwidth-intensive services, such as High Definition TV (HDTV).

For example, from day one, a household with a fibre broadband solution can simultaneously access multiple active phone lines, surf the Internet at fibre speeds and make a selection from all the current subscription TV services.

Michel Rahier, Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel's fixed communications activities said, "As Telstra's technology partner for the FTTP pilot, Alcatel is committed to play a significant part in this landmark project for the improvement of Australia's broadband infrastructure. A fibre-based broadband network will be a core element of Australia's future communications infrastructure, significantly impacting the way we all live, work and play."

"With this investment, Telstra joins the world's leading operators in piloting this ground-breaking technology. The FTTP pilot will significantly enhance Australia's capability in taking advantage of the social and economic benefits brought by broadband," Michel Rahier added.

Telstra Corp.