CALGARY, Alberta and PARIS, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and AltaLink, Canada’s only fully independent electric transmission provider, today announced that Alcatel-Lucent has been selected to build the utility’s new, improved IP communications network linking 270 substations throughout Alberta.

Alcatel-Lucent’s comprehensive leading Internet Protocol/Multiprotocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) solution will support AltaLink in improving its power-system management and enabling more efficient electricity delivery.

The new network will support mission-critical electric utility applications and data requirements throughout AltaLink’s service territory, and enable AltaLink to continue to evolve its internal data networks to offer customers electric power when they need it, at the most economical price and highest reliability possible.  

“AltaLink has taken an innovative step as the first electric utility in Canada to build an IP/MPLS infrastructure to enable us to better manage our transmission infrastructure to ensure more reliability, safety and cost efficiency,” said Clinton Struth, Principal Engineer – Network Communications.  “By engineering the network to support critical applications such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and teleprotection (TPR), the Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS solution plays a key role in our next-generation network strategy aimed at combining and improving service-delivery and positions us for future growth and network expansion.”

AltaLink expects the pilot to be completed by mid year resulting in live data traffic being processed in the summer and marks  the start of the technology deployment that will occur over the next five years.

“AltaLink is known for its forward-looking approach to telecommunications and network management to enable a more efficient power system and better serve its customers,” said Alex Giosa, President of Alcatel-Lucent Canada.  “More and more utilities worldwide are transitioning to  IP/MPLS technology.  The fact that AltaLink has selected Alcatel-Lucent to help implement its ‘Digital Networking Strategy’ underscores the confidence AltaLink has in us and our ability to serve the Canadian utility market.”  

Alcatel-Lucent will supply products from its industry-leading Service Router (SR) portfolio, including the 7750 Service Router and 7705 Service Aggregation Router - all managed end-to-end by the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager and 5650 Control Plane Assurance Manager, in addition to professional services and network maintenance.  AltaLink also will deploy the Alcatel-Lucent VPN Firewall Brick®, as well as the Alcatel-Lucent 6855 Hardened LAN switch, a Gigabit Ethernet switch specifically built for IP network deployments where environmental operating conditions are unusually demanding.

More than 300 service providers in more than 100 countries around the world have selected the Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS portfolio as key elements of their IP transformation.  According to Ovum RHK, Alcatel-Lucent holds the No. 2 position in the IP/MPLS Edge market segment.  For more information, please visit: www.alcatel-lucent.com/ipnews

About AltaLink

AltaLink, Canada’s only fully independent transmission provider, is responsible for the maintenance and operation of more than 11,800 kilometres of transmission lines and approximately 270 substations in Alberta. As Alberta’s largest supplier of safe and reliable transmission, AltaLink is moving forward to provide a transmission system that will continue to meet the growing needs of Albertans. AltaLink has been a proud supporter of Alberta 4-H since 2003, and as a Legacy Builder it is the title sponsor of all regional, district and provincial communications and public speaking programs.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent