Alcatel #1 in Optical Networking According to Industry Analyst Firm Ovum-RHK

PARIS, Sept. 12  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP.PA) today announced that it has been ranked #1 by leading industry analyst firm Ovum-RHK with a 13.4% market share in 2Q 2006 and with a 15% market share on a rolling four-quarter basis.  According to Ovum-RHK, Alcatel has been leading the optical networking market for 5 consecutive years.

The main drivers for optical sales in 2Q 2006 were mobile backhaul infrastructure projects, driven by network expansions across all regions; an increase in the roll-out of Ethernet as a key service for business customers; the increase in packet traffic driving carriers' initiatives for network modernization and convergence; the start of ROADM ramp up and an increasing activity in non-carrier segments, especially transportation, education & research and energy.

"The optical networking market is experiencing a significant re-shaping both in terms of technology and competition," said Dana Cooperson, Vice President Optical Infrastructure at Ovum-RHK.  "Alcatel continues to lead the market, thanks to its broad product and solutions portfolio, its extensive global sales and support infrastructure, and its ability to drive product innovation, which have resulted over the years in one the largest installed bases worldwide."

Alcatel's newly announced contracts in 2Q 2006 include Algerie Telecom, Guangzhou Television Station in China; Fastweb and INFN in Italy; HanseNet and T-Com in Germany; NEK in Bulgaria; PAETEC in the US, Sparq in Taiwan; TATA Group in India; Telefonica de Espana in Spain and Triple T Broadband in Thailand.

About Alcatel

Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees.  Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world.  With sales of EURO 13.1 billion and 58,000 employees in 2005, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.  For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com/ 

DATASOURCE: Alcatel



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