PARIS -- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) announced today that it has signed a contract with Asia Pacific Telecom Group (APTG) - a leading incumbent operator offering fixed and 3G mobile services, and cable TV services - to upgrade and expand its existing network in Taiwan with Alcatel's optical transport solution. The project will allow APTG to support new Ethernet-based applications for addressing the increased traffic requirements of research institutions, as well as to enhance mobile traffic backhaul capabilities.

Alcatel will deploy its optical multi-service and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technologies, enabling APTG to significantly increase its network capacity, flexibility and performance. The Alcatel solution will be based on its 1626 Light Manager (LM) multi-reach DWDM system that maximizes the capacity of core optical networks, while lowering the overall transmission cost per bit.

Additionally, Alcatel will supply its data-aware Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) providing APTG with a single platform optimized to aggregate multiple traffic types and backhaul the mobile traffic, carried over the APTG CDMA network, from base stations to the core. Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel will also upgrade its Alcatel 1350 management suite - which allows the management of packet, TDM and wavelength connectivity services – further enabling operational cost-savings.

"Fixed-mobile convergence is taking place in Taiwan, throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and APTG is further enhancing its network and expanding its service offering," stated Vincent Chih, Chief Technology Officer of APTG. "Alcatel's leadership in optical networking will help us leverage advanced features and give our customers access to the most advanced services and technologies available."

"As end-users increasingly request fixed and mobile voice, data and video services, operators need enhanced network capabilities to support their delivery, while continuing to guarantee the highest quality," said Romano Valussi, President of Alcatel's optical networking activities. "Alcatel's optical technology will help APTG benefit from higher flexibility and reliability to cope with its growing end-user service demands."

Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA)