ABU DHABI and PARIS, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire - MySolutionInfo/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and Etisalat today announced an agreement to extend Etisalat's LTE coverage in the United Arab Emirates, one of the largest and fastest growing markets for mobile data services.

Etisalat is to deploy Alcatel-Lucent's LTE solution for this extension, applying the most efficient and sustainable means of delivering a LTE-FDD (long-term evolution frequency-division duplexing)-based network and high-speed mobile broadband to customers in the UAE. The new network will address the challenge of increasing demand for high-speed mobile broadband fueled by video, gaming and other high-bandwidth applications.

The expanded network also paves the way for the introduction of advanced cloud services and evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) in 2014, as well as supporting Etisalat's Smart City and EXPO2020 initiatives.
Key Facts:

* Etisalat is deploying Alcatel-Lucent's LTE solution to significantly expand LTE service throughout the UAE while also upgrading existing 3G-2G infrastructure for future LTE service
* Agreement with Alcatel-Lucent will enable Etisalat to offer advanced cloud services and evolved Multimedia Broadcast Service (eMBMS) in 2014
* Today's announcement builds upon an agreement between Etisalat and Alcatel-Lucent, announced in December 2011, aimed at developing the most efficient and sustainable means to deliver mobile broadband to customers, using the lightRadio™ product family
* The expanded network will not only offer increased speeds, capacity and quality, but also give Etisalat the ability to support service in smaller coverage areas, with lower power-consumption and even greater efficiency
* Alcatel-Lucent's technology will support Etisalat's plan to cover 99 percent of populated areas in the UAE with LTE service by 2015 - including buildings, shopping malls, stadiums, airports and other densely populated areas
* Etisalat is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the Middle East, operating in 18 countries and serving over 100 million subscribers
* Agreement with Etisalat underscores the progress of The Shift Plan, the industrial strategy to reposition Alcatel-Lucent as a specialist vendor of IP Networking and Ultra-Broadband Access


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SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent

RELATED LINKS
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com
http://www.etisalat.ae