Alcatel-Lucent to supply GPON gear for Australia’s National Broadband Network

JUNE 24, 2010 By Stephen Hardy -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) says it has been selected as a strategic supplier for the rollout of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN). The systems house will supply GPON equipment, aggregation, and engineering assistance for the Government-backed NBN, which represents the largest single infrastructure investment in Australian history.

The National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co.), the company created to oversee construction of the NBN, has committed an initial AUS$70 million fixed price purchase and has also committed to spend up to AUS$1.5 billion on network equipment during the lifetime of the NBN project. The organization plans to roll out an open access 100-Mbps fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network to 90 percent of Australian premises over an eight-year period.

The NBN has had a controversial history, from the Government’s rejection of the responses to its RFP (see “Australian PM: We'll do broadband build ourselves”) to ongoing battles with incumbent national carrier Telstra. However, progress has been made towards bringing Telstra into the project (see “Telstra signs nonbinding traffic transfer agreement with NBN”) -- and this contract award represents another significant milestone for the project.

As Alcatel-Lucent’s CEO, Ben Verwaayen said, “The Australian NBN is one of the most important initiatives in our industry. The world is watching."

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