Sprint Selects Alcatel-Lucent to Drive Network Vision Evolution in Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southern California Regions of U.S.

PARIS, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) has been awarded a five-year contract to help develop and deploy Sprint's new Network Vision, a blueprint for a cost-effective, innovative network plan to further enhance voice quality and data speeds for customers across the United States.  

Through Network Vision, Sprint will consolidate multiple networks into one seamless infrastructure by implementing multi-mode technology to enhance service — coverage, quality and speed — create network flexibility, reduce operating costs and improve environmental sustainability.  Alcatel-Lucent was one of three vendors chosen for the Network Vision project.  Sprint expects that the total estimated incremental cost of the Network Vision program over the deployment period is between $4 billion and $5 billion.

Sprint has selected Alcatel-Lucent to provide comprehensive turnkey network integration services, converged radio access network (RAN), IP/MPLS and packet microwave backhaul and network monitoring in markets in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic and southern California regions of the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C./Baltimore and Los Angeles.  

"Sprint looks forward to working with Alcatel-Lucent on this important network evolution project designed not only to improve the customer experience, but to take our customers to the next level of mobility, and beyond," said Steve Elfman, president, Network Operations and Wholesale, Sprint. "Through our competitive vendor selection process, Alcatel-Lucent demonstrated that they are ready to deliver innovative, cost-effective, state-of-the art technology and deliver financial value to Sprint."

"Sprint is a longstanding and valued customer of Alcatel-Lucent.  These network enhancements represent a bold move enabling Sprint customers to have the latest, most cutting-edge services and capabilities not just for today, but also as Sprint evolves to its unified next generation network," said Robert Vrij, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Americas Region.  "What's more, we are supporting Sprint's strong commitment to eco-sustainability with technology that helps them reduce carbon footprint and energy costs in their network.   We look forward to helping Sprint implement its Network Vision over the coming years."

Alcatel-Lucent is providing:

• Comprehensive turnkey network integration services, including professional services suite of installation and commissioning, software integration, training, project management and deployment.
• Multi-standard base station solution that flexibly supports both 3G and multiple technologies across multiple radio spectrum bands.
• 9500 Microwave Packet Radio (MPR), 7705 Service Aggregation Router (SAR) and 7750 Service Router (SR) providing a single converged IP backhaul network across fiber and microwave technologies.
• 9900 Wireless Network Guardian (WNG) providing unique insight into network performance allowing Sprint to analyze and optimize the relationship between application traffic, network performance, and subscriber experience.
• 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM), providing end-to-end wireless IP operations and management, from cell tower to packet core.
• Hybrid and coaxial cables and antennas from Radio Frequency Systems (RFS)

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48.8 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation's greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company.  You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

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 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's blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent. 

SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent