Alcatel-Lucent Enables the Deployment of 1Gbps Access Networks Across Three Continents

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- FTTH Council North America — Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) today announces that its gigabit passive optical network (GPON) product portfolio is a driving force behind the world's first commercial 1Gbps access networks – enabling service providers across Asia, Europe and North America to deliver to residential and business customers broadband access speeds that revolutionize the way people live and work. Determined to continue to lead this effort, Alcatel-Lucent today enlarges its portfolio of GPON-based optical network terminals (ONTs) with five new models - supporting the delivery of 1Gbps services.

Having access to 1Gbps broadband - at home or in the office - is no longer a distant future. With bandwidth requirements growing at an average rate of 20% per year, service providers around the world have not only started to prepare their networks for the delivery of the next generation of fixed broadband services, but are actually commercially offering 1Gbps to their customers already. Innovators in this domain – all powered by Alcatel-Lucent's GPON equipment - include EPB in Chattanooga, Tenn (U.S.), Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd and ZON Multimedia [Portugal]).

Alcatel-Lucent's enlarged GPON ONT portfolio includes additional 1Gbps-capable ONTs, enabling service providers to rapidly boost network speeds (up to 1Gbps) as their customers' appetite for higher-bandwidth services increases. Alcatel-Lucent's latest ONT models include, amongst others, an HPNA ONT, a 'mini' ONT and an MDU ONT -

• The Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HPNA)-certified ONT supports the delivery of 1Gbps broadband through two gigabit Ethernet ports, and significantly speeds up fiber-to-the-home installation times because the existing home wiring (coax) can be re-used, rather than having to run new CAT5 Ethernet wires.
• The 'mini' ONT is slightly larger than a matchbox, and – as such - one of the smallest ONTs in the marketplace.
• The multi-dwelling unit (MDU) ONT is unique because it has 16 VDSL2 ports - making it the ideal solution for fiber deployments in existing MDUs, where re-using the existing in-building copper is often the quickest and most cost-effective approach to deliver very high bandwidths to end-users.

"With our recent introduction of the 1 gigabit per second product, Chattanooga residents – both urban and rural - have access to Internet speeds over 200 times the national average," says David Wade, Executive Vice President and COO of EPB in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  "This is the fastest Internet offer to a city in the U.S. and Alcatel-Lucent, through their expertise and incredible technology like the HPNA-ONT, has been an important partner in making this advancement a reality."

"Alcatel-Lucent continues to encourage the adoption of fiber-to-the-home with solutions that are tuned to the specific needs of every individual service provider – be it 'traditional' telcos, utilities, municipalities and even cable operators," says Dave Geary, heading Alcatel-Lucent's wireline activities. "For this, we continue to expand what is already the largest GPON ONT portfolio in the industry - to meet our customers' aggressive go-to-market objectives, and supporting the world's first commercial 1Gbps service offerings."

Alcatel-Lucent is the worldwide leader in fixed broadband access, 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 100 FTTH projects worldwide, more than 85 of which are with GPON.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) is the trusted transformation partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries such as defense, energy, healthcare, transportation, 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 and optics 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 15.2 billion in 2009 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, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.

SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent