Bangkok--Mar 14--LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES
BT, BTA of Beijing, Tele1 of Sweden, and UPC of the Netherlands sign deals for new high-speed systems; Metromedia Fiber Network to trial WaveStar DataExpress 10G
MURRAY HILL, N.J. - Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) announced it has signed agreements with four customers to deploy products from its new WaveStar 10G optical networking product line. The most comprehensive 10-gigabit (OC-192/STM-64) networking portfolio in the industry, the WaveStar family of products can save carriers up to 40 percent in both space requirements and power consumption. "Our customers have long been clamoring for a true end-to-end 10-gigabit networking solution, and they haven't been able to get one - until now," said Mr. John Conrad, president of Service Provider Network, Lucent Technologies Thailand, Inc. "Our contracts with these cutting-edge customers demonstrate that Lucent is taking a leading role in the rapidly growing high-speed optical networking market. We'll do this by offering a wider range of cost-effective products than anyone in the industry and direct connectivity to our industry-leading data networking products." The customers announced today span three continents: In the UK, the Lucent 10G system will be a fundamental part of BT's Global Transport Network (GTN) -- the UK's first terabit network. This terabit network will provide BT the capability to carry incoming and outgoing capacity from its UK-terminated, sub-sea cable network.
Beijing Telecommunications Administration (BTA) will be the first to deploy Lucent's 10G systems in China. BTA will use the technology to boost the capacity of its Beijing-area network. ท Tele1, the Nordic region's first competitive local exchange carrier, will deploy Lucent's 10G systems to provide multiple new services to thousands of its business customers throughout Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. With this investment, its business will benefit from high-speed, high-quality voice and data access. ท UPC in the Netherlands will deploy products from the 10G family as part of its commitment to significantly increase available network speed and capacity for customers in the Netherlands.
In addition, Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (MFN) (NASDAQ: MFNX), the leading provider of end-to-end optical network solutions and Internet infrastructure within major metropolitan markets internationally, will be the first to test Lucent's WaveStar DataExpress 10G. MFN initially will test the system in its network that connects its PAIX Internet exchange facilities with other Internet Exchange Points (IXP's) within the San Francisco Bay Area.
"The agreements announced today by Lucent demonstrate the company's ability to meet the networking needs of a wide range of customers," said Ken Kelly, senior analyst with Dataquest. "Because customers are looking for solutions that combine optical and data networking, Lucent will have increasing opportunities worldwide."
Building on Bell Labs leadership in optical networking Lucent's Bell Labs has garnered more than 2,000 patents in optical technology alone. In 1998, Lucent was first to announce an 80-channel DWDM system, which can transmit up to 400 Gb/s of information over a single fiber. With approximately 7,000 systems installed worldwide, Lucent is the global leader in DWDM technology. For more information about Lucent's Optical Networking Group, please visit its Web site at http://www.lucent-optical.com.
Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm of the company. For more information about Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.
Note to Editors: Lucent is hosting a media conference call concerning this announcement:
Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time. Inside the U.S., Dial-in Number: 800-288-8976 Outside the U.S., Dial-in Number: 612-332-0342
Additional media contacts: Simon Gordan, BT: +44 171 356 5375;
[email protected] Carol Nash, Metromedia Fiber Network: 408 350 6574;
[email protected] Pelle Hjortblad,Tele1 Europe, Sweden: +46 8 5631 0110 Ronald van Aart, UPC, the Netherlands: +31 20 776 6836 For information on the BTA contract, contact HT Kung, Lucent - China (86-10) 6522 5566 ext. 6960 For more information, contact:
For more information, contact:
Pongprach Surojnametakul
Shandwick International (Thailand) Limited
257 0300 (office)
257 0312 (fax)
Email:
[email protected]
Khng Eu Meng
Lucent Technologies
65-240 8060 (office)
65-240 8068 (fax)
Email :
[email protected] End