Alcatel Launches Optical Fiber and Connectivity Solution to Bring Next Generation Broadband to the Home

Business Wire, April 17, 2002

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2002

Alcatel (NYSE:ALA) has launched a Fiber-To-The-User (FTTU) optical fiber cable and connectivity solution to deliver ultra high-speed communications right to the premises of subscribers.

The new offering, Alcatel 6620, enables service providers to connect individual users to extraordinarily powerful optical FTTU systems. When coupled with Alcatel's systems, service providers can have a comprehensive Alcatel package from long-haul all the way to individual residences.

Opening up a new world of applications for subscribers, the Alcatel 6620 allows service providers to consolidate their business and significantly increase revenues by bundling voice, data and video into one powerful medium. Platform independent, the 6620 solution can accommodate various solutions such as APON, BPON, Gigabit Ethernet, FDDI and others. Alcatel also recently launched the 7340 Fiber-to-the-User solution that delivers the final mile of connectivity - giving Alcatel a fully managed, fully integrated core-to-user fiber solution that is unparalleled in the industry.

FTTU takes Internet access far beyond current technologies, operating hundreds of times faster than premium data services and thousands of times faster than a standard dial-up connection. Subscribers can simultaneously use multiple phone lines, download a full-length movie in minutes, transmit and receive high-definition visuals, or participate in full-motion videoconferencing with hi-fi quality sound and high-resolution video. Aside from major telecom operators, FTTU technology is also attractive to many alternative operators who wish to offer broadband services to homes, residential or business complexes, and local communities.

According to Bernard Le Mouel, Chief Technology Officer of Alcatel's Optics Activities, the advantages of FTTU are speed, quality of service, flexibility and reliability. "Alcatel's FTTU optical fiber, cable and connectivity solution provides an open architecture that can be used with active and passive systems covering services and platforms from a host of vendors."

All elements of the Alcatel 6620 FTTU optical fiber solution have been optimized for the optical access market, serving both businesses and residential deployments. The solution can be configured to accommodate both a point-to-multipoint or dedicated point-to-point system to deliver Gigabit Ethernet services.

Alcatel's solution allows both service providers and subscribers to obtain the lowest cost for their broadband services, while simultaneously increasing network reliability. Like Alcatel's recently introduced 10 Gigabit G-light multimode fiber for campus and central office LANs, the Alcatel 6620 is alleviating traffic bottlenecks by deploying advanced optical technology ever closer to the end user. Alcatel's integrated FTTU optical fiber and connectivity solution is available now.

About Alcatel

For more information, http://www.alcatel.com.