Alcatel Upgrades Network at Fordham University and Law School to Accommodate Students and Bandwidth-Heavy Applications

Business Wire, April 8, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2002

Alcatel's OmniSwitch Data Products Increase Speed of Web-based

Applications and Prepare University for Voice and Data Convergence

Alcatel (NYSE:ALA) today announced that Fordham University and Fordham University School of Law, located in New York City, have selected Alcatel's OmniStack and OmniSwitch/Router data products to upgrade its campus network and provide for converged applications in the future.

Fordham University and Fordham University School of Law required a faster network to support the increasing demands of its student population, faculty and administration, as well as meeting the needs for higher bandwidth applications, such as e-mail, Internet usage, remote access, accessing online student account information and registration, large file transfers and legal research. The University selected Alcatel's OmniStack and OmniSwitch/Router to provide Gigabit Ethernet to the backbone and Fast Ethernet to the desktop, which has increased speed and manageability on the network.

Consisting of multiple campuses, Fordham University is a liberal arts college that enrolls approximately 14,600 undergraduate and graduate students. The University recently acquired another institution in New York and plans to integrate its network configuration with that of the other campuses.

"Supporting and maintaining multiple buildings across different sites was a challenge for us," said Mark McNeil, director of network services, Fordham University. "We wanted a vendor that could provide a secure and scalable infrastructure today, but also one that could accommodate voice and data integration in the future."

Located on the main campus, Fordham University School of Law supports over 1,400 students and maintains an extensive library that is open to the general public. The school utilizes Alcatel's Virtual LAN (VLAN) capabilities to provide the community with access to the library without violating internal security.

"We chose Alcatel because its data equipment provides feature rich technology that is easy to implement, scalable and flexible," said Jennifer Atherley, director of information systems and planning, Fordham University School of Law. "Additionally, we found that the technical support and training offered by Alcatel was outstanding. We will be adding a new building to our campus in the next few years and look forward to working with Alcatel on this initiative."

Fordham University is planning to converge voice and data on their network later this year. The University is exploring converged applications such as video streaming to the classroom and interactive online registration where students seeking guidance can speak with a live counselor.

"Like most universities today, Fordham University has experienced increased demands placed upon its network by students and the use of high bandwith applications," said Tom Wilburn, senior vice president, Alcatel North America enterprise business. "The network upgrade provides that Fordham University and Fordham University School of Law have a network that can meet the anticipated demands of its current and future customer base, its students."

About Fordham University and Fordham University School of Law

Founded in 1841 as the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the northeast, Fordham University is an independent university in the Jesuit tradition. It grants baccalaureate degrees in the liberal arts and sciences and business administration to both traditional and non-traditional students. Fordham enrolls more than 14,600 undergraduate and graduate students in its 10 Colleges and Schools. Established in 1905, the School of Law includes the study of general jurisprudence, the common and statute law of the U.S. system of equity jurisprudence, and the historic and philosophic origins of law.

About Alcatel

Alcatel designs, develops and builds innovative and competitive communications networks, enabling carriers, service providers and enterprises to deliver any type of content, such as voice, data and multimedia, to any type of consumer, anywhere in the world. Relying on its leading and comprehensive products and solutions portfolio, stretching from end-to-end optical infrastructures, fixed and mobile networks to broadband access, Alcatel's customers can focus on optimizing their service offerings and revenue streams. With sales of $22 billion (EURO 25 billion) in 2001 and 99,000 employees, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com.