www.alcatel.com

Alcatel today announced that it integrated its 3G mobile infrastructure and services solutions into the UMTS network of Orange in France, which opened commercially with the 'Orange Intense' 3G service launch. At the same time, Alcatel announced that it was selected by Orange as its 3G mobile infrastructure supplier in the Netherlands, thus contributing to accelerate the roll-out of user-centric mobile broadband experience.

In France, Alcatel's Evolium multi-standard radio access mobile solution is used by Orange in half of its UMTS network on the French territory, in particular in Paris and its surroundings, in the Western part of the country as well as in Lille's surroundings (North of France). Furthermore, Alcatel's audio and video services platforms (audio and video streaming, convergent fixed/mobile video calls solution and a video mailbox service) are part of the technical solutions of Orange. This achievement builds upon the success of the pre-commercial 3G service launched in April 2004 by Orange in France, during which Alcatel's video solution was efficiently integrated and hosted.

In the Netherlands, Alcatel was selected by Orange as a supplier to carry out its nation-wide UMTS radio access network infrastructure deployment.

Alcatel's new contract with Orange in the Netherlands is in the continuity of the frame agreement signed by Alcatel with the Orange Group, making Alcatel one of the Orange Group's suppliers of choice for its 3G radio and core network infrastructure. It also builds upon an earlier contract with Orange in the UK, where Alcatel is now set to actively deploy UMTS radio infrastructure in a number of regions of the country.

"We recognize Alcatel as a reliable and focused partner which actively supports Orange's roll-out of mobile broadband services," declared Didier Quillot, chief executive officer of Orange France.

"Orange and Alcatel have in the past years formed a successful team," declared Jan Kuijpers, chief operations officer of Orange in the Netherlands. "Alcatel's people are experts in the field of 3G/UMTS. With their dedication and experience in this market, we know that we have closed a deal with the best party available. This puts us in the position to provide our customers with the highest quality that they are used to getting from Orange all over the world."

"We are proud to contribute to a powerful 3G launch by Orange in France, and to enable the roll-out of Orange's UMTS network in the Netherlands," declared Marc Rouanne, chief operating officer of Alcatel's mobile activities. "Thanks to the multi-standard capability of our Evolium solution and to the user's attractiveness of our converged fixed/mobile video solution, we can efficiently support Orange in the delivery of their 'mobile broadband' experience for customers across the company's major markets."

Evolium SAS, the Alcatel-Fujitsu joint venture, delivers a field-proven 3GPP-compliant mobile infrastructure solution and capitalizes on the Japanese 3G field experience. Furthermore, Alcatel benefits from its long-term cooperation with SK Telecom, the leading mobile operator in Korea, for the joint testing, development and distribution of advanced mobile multimedia services.