German utilities Stadtwerke Sindelfingen/Boeblingen select Alcatel-Lucent's fiber-based triple play solution

Open network model provides new business opportunities for municipalities, utilities and regional carriers

PARIS — Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has been selected by Stadtwerke Sindelfingen and Stadtwerke Boeblingen, utility companies near Stuttgart (Germany), for the deployment of a fiber to the home (FTTH)-based triple play solution. Alcatel-Lucent’s network solution will enable Stadtwerke Sindelfingen and Stadtwerke Boeblingen to offer triple play services with bandwidths of up to 100 Mbps to the 7,500 inhabitants of the new 80 ha “Flugfeld Böblingen/Stuttgart” urban development area. The two utility companies are jointly developing and marketing the “Flugfeld” area.

Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA), the industry-leading end-to-end multiservice IP network infrastructure, enabling Stadtwerke Sindelfingen and Boeblingen to deliver a range of advanced, personalized multimedia services. The architecture, based on Alcatel-Lucent’s gigabit passive optical fiber (GPON) technology, will reach into residents´ homes and allow a range of service providers to offer their services to the local end-users, over the utility company’s infrastructure. The first partner selected to provide fast Internet, voice and TV services to the future residents of the housing project is VSE NET, located in Saarbrücken.

This project is the first in Germany where an independent service provider is offering communications services via an open access optical fiber network of municipal utilities. Based on this new, cooperative, open business model, utility companies and regional network operators all over Germany will be able to significantly expand their revenue potential.

“This fiber-to-the-home deployment is a milestone for us in two ways,” says Karl-Peter Hoffmann, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Sindelfingen. “First, the open architecture and business model helps us to offer communications services without having to invest in telecoms know-how — as this is provided by the respective service providers. And second, we are building a future-ready communications infrastructure that enables bandwidths of more than 100 Mbps which can easily accommodate increased demands for video and multimedia traffic in the years to come.”

“The combination of optical fiber networks and open business models provides cities and communities with a sound concept for long-term investment,” explains Alf Henryk Wulf, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Alcatel-Lucent in Germany. “High-speed, fiber-to-the-home networks are especially attractive in newly developed areas, as is the case with ´Flugfeld Böblingen/Sindelfingen`, or in areas where ducts are readily available.”

“Fiber based infrastructure also supports a city’s marketing efforts, as inhabitants are attracted by advanced services”, Wulf points out, referring to the “Standort Deutschland 2008” study by Ernst & Young, which states that telecoms infrastructure quality is among the three most important criteria in choosing a site for a business presence.

As part of its TPSDA, Alcatel-Lucent will provide its 7342 Intelligent Services Access Manager Fiber to the User (ISAM FTTU) system, its 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, operational support software such as VitalSuite AAA and NetAdmin, and an optical transmission system that permits traditional TV signals to be transmitted via fiber (Radio Frequency Overlay). Alcatel-Lucent will also be responsible for the project management, deployment of its systems and maintenance as well as the application and software integration, leveraging its experience through major projects around the world.

Alcatel-Lucent has led the GPON market since 4Q 2007, according to Dell’Oro’s Access Report 2Q´08 – Market Summary & Vendor Information, August 2008.