OREANDA-NEWS. Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is to collaborate with the Polish government and local authorities to extend ultra-broadband access to up to eight million people in previously underserved areas in the east of the country, through the deployment of the company’s IP/MPLS and agile optical networking technology.

The project, initiated by local Polish authorities and co-funded by the European Union, continues work already in progress under the country’s National Broadband Plan and the Eastern Poland Broadband Network investment initiative, and represents one of the largest national broadband initiatives in Europe to date. 

Under Alcatel-Lucent’s Smart City ICT initiative, the company is laying the foundation for next generation ultra-broadband access to enable progress on the Polish National Broadband Plan targets of connecting 100 percent of households to the Internet at 30 megabit per second (Mbps) speeds and 50 percent with 100 Mbps speeds by 2020.  

The expansion of broadband connectivity and the development of public and private cloud infrastructures will accelerate socio-economic growth in Poland1 and aims to stimulate the Internet Service Provider market by making new e-services available in government, education and health and encourage new business opportunities. 

Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its leading IP/MPLS and DWDM 100G agile optical networking technology including the 7750 Service Router family and 1830 Photonic Service Switch, to develop regional core and distribution networks. It will also provide its leading services expertise including design and integration as well as the management of the networks up to 2030, according to the needs of the individual regions. The networks will also offer open-access wholesale opportunities for third party operators, providing them with capacity to deliver ‘last mile’ or cloud connectivity to their own subscribers. 

The initiative in Poland marks Alcatel-Lucent’s growing momentum in the development of ultra-broadband communications networks for governments around the globe to foster economic competitiveness, develop smarter cities and promote long-term economic sustainability. The project further highlights the diversification of Alcatel-Lucent’s customer base beyond the traditional telecommunications service provider market. 

Key Facts:

  • Alcatel-Lucent is deploying its IP/MPLS routing and DWDM optical transport network technology in five regions in Poland. The total population across the five regions is more than eight million. Deployment will be completed in November 2015
  • In Swietokrzyskie, Lubelskie, Podkarpackie and Warminsko-Mazurskie, Alcatel-Lucent is collaborating with local service providers to support business modeling and advanced consultancy.
  • This is the largest investment ever made by regional governments in Poland and Alcatel-Lucent has been awarded the greatest number of contracts under the Eastern Poland Broadband Network investment initiative so far. The Eastern Poland Broadband Project infrastructure will be used for public administration activities, in line with the public procurement regulations. 
  • Alcatel-Lucent will deliver and maintain an IP and optical transport management system, customer relationship management, and provide network status monitoring using its industry-leading IP and optical portfolios, including the 5620 Service Aware Manager. The company will also integrate the customer relationship management system and provide additional network status monitoring using third party technologies.
  • Alcatel-Lucent is deploying its agile optical networking DWDM solution using its 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) family for a 100G transport network to support advanced fixed and mobile access network service.
  • The Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router (SR) family - including the 7750 SR-a and 7210 Service Access Switch (SAS) - are being deployed for network-wide IP/MPLS routing to create a foundation for Next Generation Access networks delivering 30 Mb/s+ speeds for end users.
  • Alcatel-Lucent will also provide leading services expertise including design, integration and management of the networks up to 2030, depending on the needs of the region.
  • Apart from Alcatel-Lucent’s involvement in  the Eastern Poland Regional Broadband projects, the company also contributed to the projects in Lubuskie and Pomorskie provinces, where it provided its IP routing and optical transport equipment for Orange Polska – the leading telecommunication operator in Poland – which has already completed the network construction and started network operations.

Quotes:

Iwona Wendel, Undersecretary of State, Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development said: “The Polish Eastern Broadband Network is the largest public investment in the field of ICT, both nationwide and in the EU. By the end of 2015 high-speed Internet services will be available to 100 percent of companies and businesses, public institutions as well as residents of five regions of Eastern Poland. It is a civilizational  change and a significant stimulus to the macroregion development, that adds to other measures implemented in Eastern Poland to create links with modern economy. Involvement of Alcatel-Lucent helps us to achieve this objective.”

Andrzej Dulka, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent Poland said: “We are happy that the Polish government shared our vision about the value of an ultra-broadband IP transport and access network. This partnership confirms our strong expertise in national broadband initiatives globally, and technology leadership in IP networking. We are proud and excited to be able to contribute to the digital inclusion plan for Poland.”

1Socio-economic benefits of High-Speed Broadband (European Commission report)