• Home
• Telecoms & IT
• News Article

Etisalat selects Alcatel-Lucent to accelerate the deployment of its nationwide fiber optic network in the United Arab Emirates

Paris, January 11, 2010 - Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has been selected by Etisalat , the UAE's leading telecommunications service provider, to speed up the deployment of its nationwide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network. In this multi-million Euro deal, Etisalat will utilize Alcatel-Lucent 's award-winning gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology to connect 50,000 households and business customers.

Etisalat will use Alcatel-Lucent 's GPON platform to provide residential and business customers with simultaneous access to several high-definition (HD) TV channels and a Video on Demand (VOD) library - all while enabling them to surf the Internet up to 16 times faster.

" Etisalat is always keen to stay at the forefront of innovation in order to constantly provide our customers with the most attractive and advanced telecoms services. Etisalat 's FTTH roll-out in the UAE - branded eLife - positions Abu Dhabi to become the first capital city in the world with 100% fiber deployment by the end of this year. UAE will be one of the first countries in the world to have a nationwide fiber optics coverage by 2011," said Essa Al Haddad, Chief Marketing Officer for Etisalat UAE.

"Through this partnership with Alcatel‑Lucent, we will be able to accelerate the deployment of new and advanced service offerings that will revolutionize our customers' triple play and home entertainment experience. Concretely, Alcatel‑Lucent's GPON platform will support the delivery of high-definition television (HDTV), video on demand, and the fastest Internet download and upload speeds," he added.

"This contract is a key milestone for Alcatel-Lucent as it further strengthens our prominent position in the global - and UAE - FTTH market," said Amr El Leithy, President of Alcatel-Lucent 's business in the Middle East and Africa. "We are fully committed to continue leveraging this leadership to help our customers transform their networks cost-effectively - catering to the surge of end-users' bandwidth requirements, closely linked to today's converged multimedia trend," he added.

Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber-to-the-User (ISAM FTTU) GPON-based platform, and the related Alcatel-Lucent 5520 Access Management System. In addition, Alcatel-Lucent is supplying a range of optical network terminals (ONTs) to install at the end-users' premises, and will provide Etisalat with its professional services expertise - including project management, installation, commissioning and training.

Alcatel-Lucent is the worldwide leader in the fixed broadband access market, supporting the largest mass deployments of video, voice and data services. Today, one out of three fixed broadband subscribers around the world is served through an access network provided by Alcatel-Lucent . Alcatel-Lucent is currently involved in over 95 FTTH projects worldwide, over 80 of which are with GPON.

-Ends-

About Etisalat
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, Etisalat , is considered a pioneering telecom operator in the Middle East region. Etisalat has operations and investments in 18 markets across Asia and Africa and has a stated aim of being among the top 10 telecom operators in the world by 2010. It aims to achieve this goal by providing latest telecommunications services and solutions, and by expanding through local and international investment to meet and exceed customers' expectations. Etisalat has been ranked among the Top 500 Corporations in the world by Financial Times and the sixth largest Middle East Corporation by The Middle East magazine. For more information, visit Etisalat on the Internet: http://www.etisalat.ae

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

For more information, please contact
Alcatel-Lucent
Peter Benedict
Tel: + 33 (0)1 40 76 50 84
Email: pbenedict@alcatel-lucent.com

Valerie La Gamba
Tel: + 32 (0)1 40 76 12 28
Email: valerie.la_gamba@alcatel-lucent.com

Alcatel-Lucent Investor Relations
Rémi Thomas
Tel: + 33 (0)1 40 76 50 61
Email: remi.thomas@alcatel-lucent.com

Tom Bevilacqua
Tel: + 1 908-582-7998
Email: bevilacqua@alcatel-lucent.com

Tony Lucido
Tel: +: + 1 908-582-5722
Email: alucido@alcatel-lucent.com

Don Sweeney
Tel: + 1 908 582 6153
Email: dsweeney@alcatel-lucent.com

© Press Release 2010