Alcatel announced that it has been awarded a contract by Iceland Telecom to upgrade the operator's broadband access network to cope with increased demand for Triple Play services, including IPTV, and ensure business continuity as the network scales up.

IPTV is proving to be very successful in Iceland. Launched only four months ago, Iceland Telecom's IPTV services offering has been a success, with thousands of TV subscribers on the waiting list to be served. The new access network is expected to be fully operational this summer.

"Competition from CLECs and power utilities requires us to take an aggressive approach towards rolling out triple play services," said Thor Jes Thorisson, VP Data Services of Iceland Telecom. "We have selected Alcatel's solution based on its performance, stability, reliability and resilience, as well as its capability to offer triple play services at non-blocking speeds to all users at the same time."

"Service providers in Europe are aggressively moving to deliver IP-enabled video (IPTV) services as a means to increase revenue, reduce churn, and stave off competition The sheer volume of bandwidth intensive applications is driving the operators to rethink their access network strategy," commented Michel Rahier, chief operating officer of Alcatel's fixed communications activities. "Having a scalable and reliable access infrastructure, which can guarantee the rigorous quality of service requirements needed for any triple play service roll-out, is key, as has been proven by our customers worldwide. Choosing Alcatel as a partner significantly reduces deployment risks for the operator."

Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel is deploying its 7302 Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM). This IP-based broadband access platform enables the deployment of 100% triple play services, supporting the exploding demand for new and bandwidth hungry applications, such as video on demand, HDTV and broadcast TV services for all subscribers simultaneously. Alcatel is also deploying the Alcatel 5530 Network Analyzer, an advanced diagnostic software tool designed to analyze the DSL network conditions to ensure the successful deployment of value-added broadband services.

This contract further reinforces Alcatel's leadership in the global DSL market and IP triple play over broadband access. Since its launch in September 2004, eleven customers worldwide have now selected the 7302 ISAM.

Alcatel holds a cumulative DSL market share of 37.8% based on the fourth quarter 2004 data from industry analyst Dell'Oro Group. Alcatel has shipped more than 58 million lines and its broadband access solutions are prominent in networks of over 120 service providers worldwide.