Verizon awards Alcatel-Lucent an $6bn deal

New Delhi, March 28, 2007 "" Verizon Wireless and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced a three-year agreement worth an expected USD6 billion for Alcatel-Lucent to supply a wide variety of network equipment, software and services supporting Verizon Wireless' ongoing network expansion and continuous improvements. With this agreement Alcatel-Lucent continues to be Verizon Wireless' primary network infrastructure supplier and will continue to help grow Verizon Wireless' already successful, existing portfolio of multimedia and data services.

The equipment, software and services from Alcatel-Lucent will make it possible for Verizon Wireless to further increase the coverage and capacity of its award-winning, wide-area BroadbandAccess data network based on CDMA2000® 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) technology and introduce new A-IMS services including Voice over IP (VoIP), push-to-x, mobile video telephony and more by deploying various components of Alcatel-Lucent's IMS solution. The deployment also will accommodate the Verizon Wireless approach to multi-vendor interoperability of these systems. In addition, the agreement calls for Alcatel-Lucent to enhance Verizon Wireless' existing CDMA2000 1X network.

"With strong support from Alcatel-Lucent, we at Verizon Wireless provide our customers with the highest quality and most advanced mobile network in the U.S. The $6 billion investment we're announcing today is indicative of our willingness to further separate us from our competitors in the marketplace," said Dick Lynch, chief technology officer and executive vice president of Verizon Wireless. "We will deliver value over fully interoperable IP-services that enhance the lifestyles of our customers "" by offering multimedia services that combine voice, data, and video capabilities." "This agreement underscores Verizon Wireless' commitment to quality and to further enhancing the industry-leading multimedia and data services that its customers already enjoy," said Cindy Christy, president of Alcatel-Lucent's North America business. "We are proud of the confidence Verizon Wireless has in our abilities and our comprehensive and extensive portfolio of products, solutions and services."

Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide infrastructure solutions spanning its entire portfolio to transition Verizon Wireless to an all-IP network. Verizon Wireless' CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A network will be expanded and enabled to support services such as VoIP with Quality of Service (QoS) through software upgrades. Selected IMS services will be enabled through the addition of Alcatel-Lucent's IMS platforms with the A-IMS compliant Application Manager and Services Data Manager functions.

Existing Alcatel-Lucent-supplied packet switches will be upgraded to support IP soft handoff and Transcoder Free Operation, and the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router will also provide IP routing and Ethernet aggregation.

Verizon Wireless will also use a wide range of products from Alcatel-Lucent's optical and wireless transmission products, including MDR 8000 digital microwave radios. The Alcatel-Lucent optical networking products will include the optical cross-connects LambdaUnite and 1671 Service Connect (SC), and the Metropolis DMX product family, which will provide an end-to-end solution for bandwidth management and mobility traffic backhaul.

Alcatel-Lucent is also providing comprehensive end-to-end network support services, ranging from network integration to installation, repair and maintenance services.

CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association.