Alcatel to deploy Telstra IP network in five state capitals

Australian incumbent Telstra has contracted French vendor Alcatel for an upgrade of its fixed line infrastructure in a deal valued at AUD460 million. The upgrade, which is unrelated to Telstra’s on-hold Fibre to the Node (FTTN) rollout, is part of a strategic supplier relationship signed between the two companies in November 2005. Under the deal, over the next 18 months Alcatel will establish an IP network footprint for Telstra in five Australian state capitals – Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide – including the supply and deployment of equipment such as IP-DSLAMs, Ethernet aggregation and optical networking solutions. Telstra has also established a new ‘integration laboratory’, which will be managed by Alcatel to undertake testing of new technology to be integrated into Telstra’s network.