Alcatel-Lucent

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Alcatel-Lucent
Type Public (Euronext: ALU, NYSEALU, TYO: 6687)
Founded 1898
Headquarters Paris, France Flag of France
Key people Patricia Russo, CEO and Serge Tchuruk, chairman
Industry telecommunications
Products provides hardware, software and services to telecommunications service providers and enterprises
Revenue 18.3 Billion EUR (2006) (combined from Alcatel and Lucent Technologies)[1]
Employees 79,000 (2006)
Slogan Because the World is Always On
Website www.alcatel-lucent.com

Alcatel-Lucent is a French company that provides hardware, software, and services to telecommunications service providers and enterprises all over the globe. The company is incorporated in France, and has its global executive offices in Paris. The company does business in 132 countries, with almost equal sales distribution coming from both its European and North American regions, and an additional third of its channel located elsewhere in the world. Alcatel-Lucent was formed after Alcatel's buyout of Lucent Technologies on December 1, 2006.[2]

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Alcatel logo
Alcatel logo

Headquartered in Paris (France), rue de la Boétie, with significant operations in and around Paris, Alcatel-Lucent has a long history beginning in 1898 with the founding of Compagnie Générale d'Électricité (CGE). The original home of the company was the Alsace region and it still maintains R&D operations in the Strasbourg area. The current name, "Alcatel", comes from the acquisition in 1968 of Société Alsacienne de Constructions Atomiques, de Télécommunications et d' Électronique.

In 1991, CGE changed its name to Alcatel Alsthom, and in 1998 to Alcatel [2].

There were a number of mergers and acquisitions, as well as divestments since 1998. To understand the current company and its focus on telecommunications, the most important were the acquisition of the European telecommunications activities of ITT in 1986. The combined companies were called Alcatel Alsthom. Alcatel maintains significant R&D presence in France (Paris region, Brittany, South of France), Antwerp (Belgium), at the former ITT operations there (Bell Telephone), in Stuttgart (Germany), in Italy (Vimercate, Genoa, Rieti,Trieste, Battipaglia), in India (Gurgaon, NOIDA and Chennai), since 2000 in Shanghai (China), since 2004 in Warsaw (Poland) and since 2005 in Saint-Petersburg (Russia).

Since 1990, various North American companies were acquired – Spatial Wireless, Rockwell Technologies, DSC Communications, Xylan, Packet Engines, Assured Access, Newbridge, iMagicTV, TiMetra, and eDial – giving Alcatel a strong U.S. and Canadian presence. Alcatel has its North American headquarters in Plano, Texas, and R&D operations in Ottawa, Ontario; Mountain View, California; Petaluma, California; Saint John, New Brunswick; Calabasas, California and Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 2004, Alcatel set up a new joint venture with TCL Corporation of China forming a new mobile business, T&A Mobile Phones Limited (TAMP).

It is mostly well known for its DSL multiplexers, used for high-speed Internet access over ADSL and VDSL. It had over 40% of the world DSLAM market in 2007, with more than 143 million lines shipped. It has a partnership with Microsoft as of 2004 to provide IPTV services via its TPSDA (Triple Play Services Delivery Architecture) over DSL and using its 7x50 VPLS/MPLS routers and switches to service providers such as AT&T in the United States. It is also a leading provider of optical transmission equipment, especially for submarine communications cable. Genesys, a U.S. subsidiary, is a leading provider of call centre software.

Alcatel is also the world leader in point-to-point microwave radios and wireless transmission; with over 50 years expertise and over 17% of the global market share in 2005. It has a field-proven experience in deploying and managing wireless transmission networks and 2G, 2.5G, and 3G mobile backhauling.

Alcatel-Lucent has several notable non-network-based businesses. It has a Transport Solutions division that provides routing, control and network management for railway and mass transit operators, such as city undergrounds in Berlin, London and New York.

On April 2, 2006, Alcatel announced a merger with its U.S. competitor, Lucent. The combined company, Alcatel-Lucent, was expected to have revenues of approximately $25 billion U.S. based on 2005 calendar results. [3]

The acquisition was completed on December 1, 2006.

  • Carrier
  • Enterprise
  • Services
  • Governement

Lucent Technologies filed suit against Gateway and Dell, claiming they had violated patents on MP3, MPEG and other technologies developed by Bell Labs, a division of predecessor company American Telephone & Telegraph. Microsoft voluntarily joined the lawsuit in April of 2003, and Alcatel was added after it acquired Lucent. The case, involving a number of patents, is pending in U.S. District Court in San Diego, California.

The first part of the case involved two audio coding patents that Alcatel-Lucent claimed were infringed by Microsoft's Windows Media Player application. Alcatel-Lucent won the trial and $1.52 Billion in damages, but the Judge granted[3] Microsoft's motion for judgment and new trial.[4],[5] Alcatel-Lucent says it will appeal.[6]

In the second part of the case, the Judge ruled that Microsoft had not violated Alcatel-Lucent's patents relating to speech recognition and the case was therefore dismissed before going to trial. Alcatel-Lucent intends to appeal.[7][8]

The third part of the case involves several user interface-related patents, is scheduled to begin on May 21.

Additional patent infringement cases, some filed by Microsoft and some filed by Lucent, are pending across the U.S..

Alcatel USA, formerly DSC Communications Corporation, was an extremely litigious company during the 1990s under the direction of former CEO James L. Donald and former General Counsel George Brunt. These lawsuits brought Alcatel hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. Notable actions include:

Alcatel is seriously questioned in Costa Rica due to bribes to high ranking government officials particularly in the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) -the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity- to persuade them to purchase the country's cellular telephone network from them[citation needed]. The issue is still outstanding in Costa Rica's highest courts[citation needed]. Also, there are other issues standing due to the low quality of the equipment and signal of the mentioned equipment.[citation needed]

The corporate image and brand image of the company was designed by Euro RSCG.[9]

It vaguely represents A and L which stand for Alcatel and Lucent and also symbolizes infinity. According to their website [10], "It symbolizes infinity. It implies movement. Its colour combines the stability of blue with the energy of red".


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