Vodafone selects Alcatel-Lucent for network convergence

New Delhi, Feb 26 (UNI) British telecom major Vodafone has selected Alcatel-Lucent to migrate all networking services in Spain onto a highly reliable Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS based network.

The converged network will support broadband data services (GPRS and 3G), signaling and billing traffic, 3G voice traffic as well as future multimedia evolutions.

The project, part of a global network transformation to internet protocol (IP), will enable the operator to guarantee end-to-end quality of service, to optimise its network performance and to support new multimedia services.

''By evolving its networks to a next-generation infrastructure, Vodafone will support all services on a single network allowing the mobile operator to optimise its investment and operational expenditures, and accelerate the launch of new advanced and convergent services to the market,'' Alcatel-Lucent said in a statement.

A streamlined network based on the Alcatel-Lucent IP solution will enable Vodafone to improve on capex and opex, said Technology director from Vodafone Spain, Jaime Bustillo.

Alcatel-Lucent provides Vodafone with an IP/MPLS core and edge network solution based on its nextgen 7750 Service Router and 7710 Service Router along with the 5620 Service Aware Manager.

According to Ovum-RHK, Alcatel-Lucent was number two in the IP/MPLS Edge market segment in Q4 2006, with a 19 per cent market share.

UNI