Alcatel, a leader in broadband access solutions, and SBC Communications Inc. reached a multi-year, multi-million dollar agreement to deploy the Alcatel 7340 Fiber-to-the-User (FTTU) solution for residential customers in SBC Pacific Bell's Mission Bay project in San Francisco.

Using Alcatel's 7340 FTTU solution, SBC's network will have the capability to deliver to consumers voice, data, and video services over an all-optical network, including emerging high-bandwidth services like high definition television (HDTV). The Alcatel 7340 provides voice, interactive video supporting hundreds of analog and digital channels, and Internet access at much higher speeds than traditional dial-up modems.

Alcatel and SBC plan to define a network architecture that supports current DSL Internet access service and makes way for FTTU technology, offering additional solutions for SBC's small business and home office customers.

The FTTU deployment in Mission Bay is the most recent in a series of significant contract extensions SBC has awarded Alcatel.

For more information on Alcatel (Paris), visit the company's website at www.alcatel.com.