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Mobily Selects Alcatel-Lucent for a Three-Year Managed Services Contract for Network Operation and Maintenance in Saudi Arabia

Posted on: Monday, 31 March 2008, 09:01 CDT

LAS VEGAS, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CTIA Wireless -- Alcatel- Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has been selected to provide managed services by Mobily, the Etihad Etisalat mobile operator in Saudi Arabia. Alcatel-Lucent will provide operations, maintenance, network optimization, spare parts management and technical support for Mobily's multi-vendor mobile network for three years.

Alcatel-Lucent will support Mobily's efforts to boost the overall efficiency of its network operations and maintenance, as well as reduce its network operating costs while improving the overall reliability of the network, thus enabling the operator to meet its customers' fast-growing demand.

"To consistently and reliably meet our customers' expectations, it is imperative for us to ensure a high level of network availability and performance but at the same time we need to minimize our operating costs, for this reason we have selected Alcatel-Lucent for its services capabilities," said Mobily CEO Khaled Al Kaf. "Alcatel-Lucent's global experience gives us the confidence that it has the skills and expertise we need to help us achieve these objectives. Our decision to extend the strategic partnership between Mobily and Alcatel-Lucent will greatly benefit our customers with reliable and superior network quality."

The strategic partnership between Mobily and Alcatel-Lucent underscores Alcatel-Lucent's leading position for managing operations and maintenance of multi-vendor networks in the Middle East and Africa.

"We are proud that an innovative, quality-conscious mobile operator like Mobily has entrusted us with the operation and maintenance of its network," said Vincenzo Nesci, President of Alcatel-Lucent's business in the Middle East and Africa. "With our strong local presence, project management organization and our modern wireless technology, we are confident that we will be able to meet Mobily's expectations."

With more than 20,000 network experts worldwide supporting the top 30 service providers in over 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is the telecom industry's most experienced and knowledgeable services partner, providing a broad and comprehensive set of professional services to all networks. To date, Alcatel-Lucent manages 65 customer networks with more than 100 million subscribers around the world.

About Mobily

Mobily is the official brand name of Etihad Etisalat, the second mobile service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Established in 2004, the ownership of the company is two-fold: a Saudi ownership, comprising public investors holding 20% of the company's shareholding, while private investors own a 45% stake. The balance of 35% is owned by the Etisalat of UAE. Mobily launched its services in May 2005 and in less than a year since its launch, Mobily's customers have reached 3.8 millions and more than 6 millions by 2006.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprise and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 17.8 billion in 2007 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel- Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/

Alcatel-Lucent

CONTACT: Press: Regine Coqueran, +33 (0)1 40 76 49 24,regine.coqueran@alcatel-lucent.com, Mary Ward, +1-908-582-7658,mary.ward@alcatel-lucent.com, or Investors: Remi Thomas, +33 (0)1 40 76 50 61,remi.thomas@alcatel-lucent.com, John DeBono, +1-908-582-7793,debono@alcatel-lucent.com, Tony Lucido, +33 (0)1 40 76 49 80,alucido@alcatel-lucent.com, Don Sweeney, +1-908-582-6153,dsweeney@alcatel-lucent.com, all of Alcatel-Lucent

Web site: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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