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Alcatel Signs Contract With Brasil Telecom and Becomes Its Key GSM Access Supplier

Posted on: Monday, 30 August 2004, 06:00 CDT

PARIS, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP.PA) today announced the signing of a major contract with Brasil Telecom, one of the largest fixed and mobile carriers in Brazil, for the delivery of its complete Evolium(TM) GSM/GPRS/EDGE solution. With this agreement, Alcatel becomes Brasil Telecom's key supplier for radio access with its market share in this technology reaching 70% of the operator's huge potential subscriber base.

Building upon the broad solutions and services portfolio already supplied by Alcatel to support Brasil Telecom's fixed activities, this global contract covers mobile radio access and data core network infrastructure, operation & maintenance and network optimization services, as well as Intelligent Network solution, MMS and WAP solution.

Brasil Telecom's footprint represents one fourth of the Brazilian population and one third of the Brazilian territory. Alcatel will deploy its solution in the second half of 2004, covering the carrier's network facilities in the Midwest region of the country, including the Federal District, as well as the states of Parana and Santa Catarina in the South region, and the states of Acre and Rondonia in the North region.

In particular, this contract includes Alcatel's iGGSN solution, (intelligent GPRS Gateway Support Node). Alcatel's iGGSN allows operators to charge their subscribers in a very flexible way depending on the type of content and the way of access. It increases operators' ARPUs and margins whilst improving the satisfaction of customers and content providers through enabling the billing of content based on its value to end users. Therefore, Alcatel's iGGSN opens the door to the delivery of more user-centric value- added and personalized services, which are the main revenue drivers of the future.

The multi-standard design of Alcatel's Evolium(TM) solution allows the smooth and cost-effective introduction of new GPRS and EDGE capabilities on existing Evolium(TM) powered networks, thus allowing the operator to implement enhanced broadband mobile multimedia services, at its own pace and according to the market's needs.

"This contract constitutes a very important milestone for Brasil Telecom, as Alcatel's solution will allow us to make our entry in the highly competitive Brazilian mobile market," stated Brasil Telecom's general director Ricardo Sacramento. "Alcatel has been a strategic partner for Brasil Telecom, and we are confident that their local expertise in providing high-quality technology and solutions will make this project a success for both companies," said Sacramento.

"This new contract with Brasil Telecom further proves Alcatel's undisputed leadership position in providing mobile solutions for emerging markets," stated Marc Rouanne, chief operating officer of Alcatel's mobile activities. "It is a good example of the Evolium(TM) multi-standard, multi-access architecture enabling mobile operators to quickly respond to today's market opportunities whilst underpinning easy and cost-effective evolution as end- users' needs and mobile technologies evolve," Rouanne added.

About Brasil Telecom

Brasil Telecom S.A. is a fixed telephony service provider in the modalities of local, national and international long-distance. The operator is a concessionaire within Region II which comprises the states of Acre, Rondonia, Tocantins, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and the Federal District, and has an authorization for operating in the other regions of the country as well as internationally. By using its SRTT authorizations, Brasil Telecom offers data communication and enterprise networks services in the Region II, extending such services nationally and internationally through the operator's companies. Brasil Telecom also holds an authorization to offer mobile services in the states of Region II and will start offering also this facility to its customers, with complete and convergent solutions. Brasil Telecom has today 10.7 million installed lines, 296 thousands public telephones and a network digitalization rate of 99%. For more information, please visit http://www.brasiltelecom.com.br/ .

About Alcatel

Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or to their employees. Alcatel leverages its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services to bring value to its customers in the framework of a broadband world. With sales of EURO 12.5 billion in 2003, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com/ .

Photo: Newscom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031111/ALALOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Alcatel

CONTACT: press, Charlie Guyer, +1-978-257-3490, orCharlie.guyer@alcatel.com , or investor relations, Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane,+1-703-668-3571, or Charlotte.laurent-ottomane@alcatel.com , both of Alcatel

Web site: http://www.alcatel.com/http://www.brasiltelecom.com.br/

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