Lucent Technologies Signs Optical Networking Contracts With Service Providers In Europe And Asia

Business Wire, Dec 9, 1998

MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1998--Lucent Technologies today announced it will supply more than US$90 million worth of optical networking and network management systems to four service providers across Europe and Asia.

The service providers -- which include the Netherlands' national communications company, KPN Telecom BV, Spain's Telefonica de Espana, Korea Telecom in Korea, and the Posts and Telecommunications Administrations in several provinces in China -- will use the Lucent systems to increase network capacity or evolve to digital networks that carry voice and data.

Optical networking uses pulses of light to carry voice, data and video, and can dramatically increase the capacity of communications systems. As customer demand increases, service providers worldwide are looking for efficient ways to use their existing fiber optic networks or offer new services.

Under its US$65 million agreement with KPN, Lucent will supply the company with optical networking transmission and network management systems that will significantly increase the capacity of KPN's "UT Lambdanet" network. The new system will help KPN meet increasing demands for its wholesale and retail data and voice services.

Lucent will expand KPN's synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH)-based network in 14 cities, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague and Utrecht, using Lucent's WaveStar(TM) OLS 80G -- a high capacity DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) system that combines up to 16 wavelengths, or channels, on one fiber, each with a 2.5 gigabit-per-second capacity -- and Lucent's network management technology.

DWDM enables service providers to transmit different wavelengths - or colors of light - on the same fiber. Lucent has already delivered approximately 2,000 DWDM systems globally and has deployed them in five of the seven continents.

Under a separate agreement, Lucent will provide full network integration services and implement a new Network Operations Center (NOC), which will be co-located with KPN's existing NOC in Hilversum, train new operations employees and provide methods and procedures to use at the center.

"Lucent's DWDM optical networking system will enable us to cope with the fast-growing demand for data and voice networking services," said Paul Smits, member of the board and chief operation officer, KPN. "Lucent is an experienced supplier that knows how to design, build and manage high-capacity networks, and is offering KPN a complete solution so that we can provide both our customers and new operators with the sophisticated, high- speed communications they demand."

In Asia - where Lucent signed US$25 million in contracts in Korea and China -- Lucent will provide its WaveStar OLS 80G DWDM system to the Guangdong Posts and Telecommunications Administration (PTA) in south China, which the service provider will use to increase the bandwidth of its provincial backbone network. Lucent also will provide its WaveStar(TM) add/drop multiplexers, digital cross connects and network management to the JiangSu PTA, enabling it to double its existing network capacity.

In Korea, Lucent was named the exclusive provider of DWDM equipment for Korea Telecom's backbone network. Korea Telecom is a leading telecommunications service provider and will use Lucent's 16-channel WaveStar DWDM system to expand capacity along a national route between Seoul, Daegu, Daejon, Kwangju and Pusan.

Spain's Telefonica will use Lucent's WaveStar OLS 80G DWDM system to transport data and voice traffic through a state-of-the-art network extending about 340 miles (540 kilometers) between Madrid and Seville. It is the first optical networking technology application for Telefonica.

Lucent's WaveStar(TM) optical networking product family is a global platform for flexible and cost-effective network transportation, and is optimized for diverse services that span access, junction, regional and long distance communiations.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, U.S., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit the company's web site at http://www.lucent.com