AUGUST 31, 2006 -- Telstra Corp. (search Telstra) and Alcatel (search Alcatel) today announced a works program for Telstra's fixed network transformation in 2006/2007, with an expected value of � 270 million.
The works program is part of Alcatel and Telstra's strategic supplier relationship, originally announced in November 2005. It will see Telstra move to the next phase of its Internet Protocol (IP) network transformation that will deliver new services to 5.3 million Telstra customers over the next five years.
In 2006/2007, Alcatel will establish an IP network footprint in five Australian cities-- Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide--by supplying and deploying its portfolio of IP-DSLAMs, Ethernet aggregation, and optical networking equipment.
"Since announcing its transformation strategy in November 2005, Telstra has made solid progress in its move to a next-generation fixed network," reports Dan Burns, Telstra's executive managing director of network and technology. "Telstra connected its first customer to Alcatel's IP-DSLAM technology early this year. These upgrades are important for future-proofing our network over the next five to ten years, where we will be able to provide customers with access to offerings such as high-speed Internet, telecommuting, video conferencing, and video delivery of services in general," he adds.
Another milestone achieved in the lead up to this next phase is the establishment of Telstra's new Integration Laboratory in Australia, which will be managed by Alcatel.
According to Burns, the new laboratory will undertake end-to-end testing of next-generation technology to allow a smooth integration into Telstra's network.
As part of the 2006/2007 works program, Alcatel will test the first mated pair of softswitches in Australia in the Telstra Integration Laboratory.
"This confirms Alcatel's participation as a key strategic supplier to Telstra as it continues the transformation of its fixed network to a next-generation IP-based network," contends Frédéric Rose, president of Alcatel's Asia Pacific activities. "Alcatel's integrated and flexible architecture will provide Telstra with a scalable, future-proofed network that can simultaneously deliver new personalized multi-media services to residential customers and advanced virtual private network services to businesses."
This technology upgrade is unrelated to Telstra's previous fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) proposal, which was put on hold earlier this year.