Alcatel has been chosen by the State Ministry of Communications (MOC) in Kuwait to supply a gigabit passive optical network (GPON) solution that will serve about 60 % of the access areas involved in the present rollout. Alcatel's solution will enable the MOC to offer triple-play services (voice, video and data) to subscribers via a fiber to the user (FTTU) architecture. As MOC's strategic partner for this project, Alcatel will support the full end-to-end system integration for both the network and the service roll out.

MOC's access network will be gradually upgraded by replacing the existing copper access with a passive optical fiber infrastructure. Subscribers will benefit from Alcatel's state-of-the art converged access infrastructure that enables the delivery of services like voice, high speed Internet, voice and multimedia over IP, and IPTV (including high definition TV, video on demand, and home entertainment).



"Based on the latest telecommunication technology, the new network will be the platform from which to provide an extensive range of broadband and narrowband services to Kuwaiti homes. It will position Kuwait as the country with the most advanced telecommunications infrastructure in the region. We also believe that selecting a major vendor like Alcatel is a key to success", said Mr. Nabeel Bin Salamah, assistant Undersecretary, Kuwait MOC.

"With this contract, Alcatel becomes the main GPON system provider in the country and demonstrates its leading-edge position with FTTU access technology. The MOC's selection of Alcatel for the project is a prime example of our network integration expertise and ability to provide complete, end-to-end turnkey solutions and which will serve as a reference in the region as well as in other areas " said Frederic Rose, President of Alcatel's integration and services activities.

Alcatel will deploy its 7342 ISAM FTTU, which is a part of Alcatel's growing ISAM family of products based on its native IP and Ethernet ISAM platform and meets the stringent requirements for a better user experience, higher bandwidth, and differentiated quality of service (QoS) needed to deliver high performance that is both service and subscriber aware. The Alcatel 7342 ISAM FTTU provides service providers with a scalable GPON solution that meets the latest Full Service Access Network (FSAN) Group's recommendations for gigabit passive optical networks.