Alcatel-Lucent: The Disappearing Mobile Masts and Towers

PARIS and LONDON, February 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- lightRadio(TM) - Solving Network Gridlock and Universal High-Speed Coverage

The looming global gridlock in mobile communications promises to be averted following the launch today of pioneering technology which will remove the bottlenecks constraining mobile networks and help deliver universal broadband coverage.

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), the leading network technology group, has joined forces with industry partners to develop lightRadio(TM), a new system that signals the end of the mobile industry's reliance on masts and base stations around the world.

Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, said: "Today's and tomorrow's demands for coverage and capacity require a breakthrough in mobile communications."

He added: "lightRadio will signal the end of the basestation and the cell tower as we know it today."

Governments and regulatory bodies are expected to welcome the technical development, which will help meet targets for universal broadband access by laying the foundation to address the so-called "digital divide."

Other major benefits from lightRadio(TM) include:

    
    - Shrinking the carbon footprint of mobile networks by over 50%

    - Reducing the Total-Cost-of-Ownership of mobile operators by up to 50%

    - Improving end user services by significantly increasing bandwidth per 
      user thanks to the deployment of small antennas everywhere

Wim Sweldens, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Wireless Division said: "lightRadio will help mobile operators evolve their networks to address the mobile broadband deluge."

lightRadio represents a new approach where the base station, typically located at the base of each cell site tower, is broken into its components elements and then distributed into both the antenna and throughout a cloud-like network.

lightRadio also shrinks today's clutter of antennas serving 2G, 3G, and LTE systems into a single powerful, Bell Labs-pioneered antenna that can be mounted on poles, sides of buildings or anywhere else there is power and a broadband connection.

The innovation coincides with growing demand for third-and-fourth generation mobile networks and devices, involving the mass adoption of wireless television services and other forms of broadband content. The total addressable market for the radio technology necessary to serve such networks and devices is expected to exceed EUR100bn1 over the next seven years.

Alcatel-Lucent announced the lightRadio(TM) technical specifications and launch timetable at an industry event in London today. Visit http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/lightradio for product press release and link to event replay (available at 2:30 GMT).

[1] This is the total addressable market for multi-technology radio solutions that consist of radio access base stations that simultaneously support 2G, 3G, and LTE, and multiple frequencies in the same platform

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted transformation partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries such as defense, energy, healthcare, transportation, and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 15.2 billion in 2009 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.