Etisalat enters into deal with Alcatel for DSL solutions

Etisalat has selected French telecom major Alcatel to supply Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) solutions in the UAE leading to varied high-speed services across the country.

Under the contract, Alcatel will supply the industry leading Alcatel 7300 Advanced Services Access Manager (ASAM) DSL access network solution together with full end-to-end Network service management capabilities to enable a full range of DSL services to its subscribers.

Officials declined to specify the value of the contract but said it was "big".

"The Alcatel 7300 ASAM family enables Etisalat to expand its service offering when it chooses and offer a range of integrated data, voice and video services such as streaming video, music download, interactive gaming and broadband communication services to anyone, anywhere and at any time," said Michel Rahier, Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel's fixed communications services.

"Broadband is a very powerful tool that helps competitive businesses serve better their customers in the information age," he added.

This contract further reinforces Alcatel's DSL leadership in the Middle East region where its broadband solutions are present in the networks of several Middle East operators.

Alcatel holds 36.8 per cent share of the global DSL access market based on November 2003 data from industry analyst Dell'Oro Group and has shipped more than 33.6 million DSL lines.

Etisalat became the first telecom operator in the Middle East to launch the revolutionary third generation or 3G mobile services in December 2003 and providing connectivity in a month's time.

In barely two months since 3G was unveiled, over 1,000 customers secured connectivity and Etisalat is optimistic the numbers will increase in the coming months. Plans are underway to expand the infrastructure and network to provide 3G coverage across the entire country at the earliest.

What the contract is all about
* Alcatel will supply 7,300 Advanced Services Access Manager (ASAM) DSL access network solution.
* It will also deliver full end-to-end Network service management capabilities.
* Etisalat gets to expand its service offering when it chooses and offers a range of integrated data.