ish Expands its Broadband Network with Alcatel's Optical Fiber Solutions

Business Wire, March 14, 2002

Business/High Tech Editors

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2002

German CATV operator cites Alcatel responsiveness and expertise

in purchase of more than 64,000 kilometers of optical fiber

Alcatel (NYSE: ALA), the world leader in optical networking, today announced deliveries of its fiber optic cable to ish, a German broadband service provider, in support of ish's plans to execute the first major upgrade of the CATV network in the German regions of North-Rhine Westfalia (NRW) and Baden-Wurttemberg. Ish's fiber optic deployments are critical to the telecommunications evolution in Germany, and underscore the importance of Alcatel in enabling the proliferation of broadband technology. Alcatel's high performance products and leadership in optical networking will provide ish with vital tools for growth.

The current ish projects entail deploying 450 km of Alcatel fiber optic cables containing singlemode fibers to establish a fiber optic backbone from NRW to Baden-Wurttemberg, linking the northwestern and southwestern provinces of Germany, where a total of 6.4 million households already are connected to the ish network. Ish will manage system traffic for both provinces at its Network Operating Center (NOC) in the city of Kerpen in NRW. The backbone route will extend from the NOC and connect the cities of Karlsruhe and Ludwigsburg, where ish plans to build network rings similar to the existing ring in NRW. This new ring construction will enable millions of consumers in both regions to have the opportunity to receive enhanced Internet, phone, and cable television services.

"Fiber optic cables are a critical part of our infrastructure, and enable us to offer our customers high-speed, high bandwidth applications," said Chuck Carroll, chief technical officer at ish. "Alcatel's responsiveness to our needs and their leadership in optical technologies were pivotal in our vendor selection process. Their products and expertise will be a major resource for ish as we execute ambitious plans to deliver broadband services throughout western Germany."

"Ish has some very exciting plans for its network," said Jacques Blanc, president of Alcatel's optical fiber activities. "We are confident that their selection of Alcatel's fiber optic solutions will further help them serve their customers exceptionally well."

Notes to the editors:

The number of fiber kilometers (fkm) is calculated by multiplying the cable length times the number of fibers within the cables. In this case, the 450 km of cable comprises 64,000 fkm.

About the products to be deployed in this project

Ish has selected Alcatel's single mode fibers (SMF) contained in the popular and versatile loose tube cable design for use in the backbone project. Alcatel's SMF is produced by means of a proprietary manufacturing process known as Advanced Plasma and Vapor Deposition, which ensures a very consistent and high quality product. As with its TeraLight non-zero dispersion-shifted fibers, SMF features Alcatel's unique ColorLock coating system, wherein the standard identification color code is incorporated in each fiber's secondary coating, replacing the traditional surface application of thin layers of ink. Because the fiber color is integrated into the coating, the color is brilliant, always consistent and exceptionally durable. This innovation in fiber manufacturing enables rapid, trouble-free fiber splicing and installation.

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 EURO 25 billion in 2001 and 99,000 employees, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, www.alcatel.com

About ish

ish GmbH and Co. KG, (formerly cable NRW), has operated the biggest coherent cable system in Germany since July, 2000. Ish stands for integrated communication services. In North Rhine-Westphalia ish offers phone, Internet in repeated DSL service as well as television and radio via CATV. Ish is an enterprise of the international Callahan group, which links 13 million connectable customers to the biggest cable system operators in Europe. With ONO in Spain and TELE-NET in Belgium, Callahan in Europe already pursues successful enterprises in the delivery of integrated communication services. These experiences will be the basis for ish in Germany as it pursues new ideas for services oriented to customers. Contact partner: ish GmbH and Co. KG, Gustav Heinemann-Ufer 54, 50968 Cologne, press speaker Eva Kruger telephone: 0221 / 377 92 - 197 E-mail: Eva krueger@ish.com