Alcatel-Lucent brings high-speed mobile broadband to rural Texas through 4G LTE agreement with West Central Wireless

SAN ANGELO, Texas and PARIS, June 5,  2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents in rural areas of the U.S. state of Texas will soon be able to enjoy high-speed broadband services on mobile devices thanks to an agreement between Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) and West Central Wireless, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Central Texas Telephone Cooperative.

Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will enable West Central Wireless to launch new 4G LTE service.  In addition, West Central Wireless will open up its core network under a new 'network hosting' agreement to offer other regional operators the opportunity to deliver broadband services in underserved rural communities.

West Central Wireless intends to launch its own 4G LTE service in late 2012 providing subscribers with faster speeds and higher quality connections to the Internet via laptops in combination with LTE dongles and home broadband networks. Access via 4G LTE smartphones and tablet devices will be available later.

Deployment of Alcatel-Lucent's Wireless Packet Core system will enable the high-speeds and bandwidth needed to deliver 4G LTE services. Furthermore, opening up part of this 'packet core network' will allow West Central Wireless to enable other regional operators to accelerate new services as the agreement eliminates the need for investment in packet core networks of their own.  They need only to develop a radio access network using Alcatel-Lucent's LTE base stations to provide coverage to customers. This will help reduce the costs associated with deploying a full LTE network and provide new revenue streams created by the delivery of these services.

Mike Higgins, Jr., CEO of Central Texas Telephone Cooperative, said: "West Central Wireless is a trusted provider of hosted services, having offered similar agreements for AMPS, TDMA, CDMA and GSM technologies. We are pleased to be able to leverage Alcatel-Lucent's expertise to deliver new services that meet the mobile broadband needs of our customers, while offering a significant opportunity for other service providers who don't have the capital to invest in a full core network, to do the same."

Robert Vrij, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Americas Region and head of Global Strategic Alliances, said: "As a leading provider of mobile broadband networks, Alcatel-Lucent is ideally suited to help West Central Wireless evolve its network to 4G LTE and to expand the availability of mobile broadband to customers throughout rural Texas. This agreement further demonstrates Alcatel-Lucent's ability to provide flexible solutions that meet operators' unique business needs and help them creatively expand their businesses."

As the global demand for mobile services continues to rise, Alcatel-Lucent is providing operators with a clear, efficient evolution path toward mobile broadband. Alcatel-Lucent's innovative all-IP core network solution and its groundbreaking lightRadio™ portfolio of products are designed with broadband in mind, providing a framework for wireless networks that offer lightning fast data speeds while reducing operating costs and power consumption.

About West Central Wireless

As the first cellular carrier between El Paso and Dallas to begin operation, West Central will celebrate 25 years of service to their customers in 2012.  With retail and wholesale cellular and Internet operations in 27 contiguous counties throughout West Central Texas, the almost 200 West Central employees strive to serve our customers communication wants and needs.

About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU)

The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leading innovator in the field of networking and communications technology, products and services. The company is home to Bell Labs, one of the world's foremost research centers, responsible for breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Alcatel-Lucent was named one of MIT Technology Review's 2012 Top 50 list of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" for breakthroughs such as lightRadio™, which cuts power consumption and operating costs on wireless networks while delivering lightning fast Internet access. Through such innovations, Alcatel-Lucent is making communications more sustainable, more affordable and more accessible as we pursue our mission - Realizing the Potential of a Connected World.

With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The Company achieved revenues of Euro 15.3 billion in 2011 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.

For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow the Company on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.

SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent