Alcatel-Lucent lands IP core router deals with CenturyLink, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) said it has earned significant wins in the U.S. and China for its 7950 XRS (Extensible Routing System) core router. In the U.S., CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) revealed it has deployed the 7950 XRS in its IP core network. Meanwhile, the systems house also announced it has won awards via a centralized bidding process that will see it deliver the core router to China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile.

CenturyLink will use the 7950 XRS to support the tide of traffic expected to occur as the service provider continues to roll out 1-Gbps broadband access offerings. The U.S. Tier 1 carrier has launched such services for residential and business subscribers in 16 cities. The core network also enjoys direct connections to 57 worldwide data centers and CenturyLink’s voice and data offerings, managed IT services, colocation, managed hosting and private and public cloud products.

"As a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions, we are focused on ensuring we have the speed and capacity to meet the data demands of our customers," said James Feger, vice president, CenturyLink network strategy and development. "This new platform is flexible and supports our IP networking needs as we continue to grow and transform our network."

In China, the three carriers selected Alcatel-Lucent's core router for a variety of applications. China Telecom, through its 2014 400G-enabled core router central bid, will use the 7950 XRS in Jiangsu province and Shanghai city, two of the five areas covered by the tender. China Unicom selected Alcatel-Lucent as its sole supplier under its 2014 all Ethernet core router central bid. The company also received sole supplier status at China Mobile under its 2014 high-performance Ethernet router central bid.

Alcatel-Lucent unveiled the 7950 XRS in 2012 (see "Alcatel-Lucent unveils 7950 XRS core routers"). The new contracts will mark the router’s first deployments in China.

"These first scale commercial deployments in China of the world's most powerful core router will provide China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile with the increased capacity needed to meet internet service demand in the world’s largest market," said Alcatel-Lucent CEO Michel Combes. "The experience gained in China will lay a solid foundation for future deployments of the 7950 XRS across the entire region of APAC."

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