Alcatel-Lucent signs Chinese utility customer

MAY 15, 2008 -- Alcatel-Lucent (search for Alcatel-Lucent) has signed a contract with Tianjin Power, the Tianjin province's electricity provider, to deploy an intelligent optical transport infrastructure to streamline energy and corporate operations. Tianjin Power plans to use the optical platforms to leverage automatic traffic provisioning, network protection, as well as optimized operation and maintenance capabilities. The contract was secured by Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's Chinese flagship company, and is the first deployment of this kind in the Asia-Pacific utility segment.

Alcatel-Lucent says its equipment, using an intelligent control plane key for dynamic networking and traffic protection, will enable Tianjin Power to set up and tear down connections over its optical transport network in real-time for a wide range of applications including high-speed data backup and employee training sessions. It will make it possible to assess capacity in minutes, minimizing service turn-up times and improving service delivery efficiency for end-users. The systems' restoration and protection capabilities will enable Tianjin Power to maximize network reliability and availability, while simplifying and reducing operational expenditures, the company adds.

"Reliable, scalable, and manageable communications networks are critical to the energy sector," said Frederic Rose, president of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in Europe, Africa, and Asia. "Tianjin Power's innovative investment in an intelligent optical network represents a significant milestone in the Chinese energy industry by providing the communications foundation to deliver the reliable flow of power to its customers while minimizing operational costs."

Alcatel-Lucent asserts that an intelligent control plane based on automatically switched optical network/generalized multi-protocol label switching (ASON/GMPLS) technology is key for dynamic networking and traffic protection. Its introduction over the Alcatel-Lucent 1678 Metro Core Connect (MCC) that will be deployed in Tianjin Power's transport network will enable in-service transformation from a centralized to a distributed restoration mechanism that offers superior network protection, operation, and maintenance capabilities.

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