Alcatel-Lucent and SaskTel successfully complete trial of 400G optical transport on network originally designed for data speeds of 10G

Regina, Saskatchewan SK/Paris, September 12, 2013 – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and SaskTel, the full service communications provider in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, have announced the successful trial of fiber-optic data transmission that could enable the delivery of data at speeds of up to 400G (gigabytes-per second) over a network originally built for 10G traffic.

The trial took place on a live network between Regina, the provincial capital of Saskatchewan, and Saskatoon more than 250km away. The trial could lead to the deployment of the Alcatel-Lucent technology, allowing SaskTel to stay ahead of increasing demand for broadband access by offering an immediate upgrade to 100G transmission today, moving to 400G in the future as and when needed.

Key Facts:

• Trial conducted over a live SaskTel 10G network between Regina and Saskatoon in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada.
• Alcatel-Lucent’s optical solution trialed is based on its 1830 Photonic Service Switchplatform, and has the ability to be deployed simultaneously with existing multiple 10G, 40 and 100G network links.
• 400G technology helps address demand that is being driven by growing customer reliance on multi-media, particularly video and high-speed broadband such as SaskTel’s “Infi-net” fiber-to-the-home (FTTH).
• SaskTel was among the first service providers globally to deploy high-speed broadband access with Fiber-to-the-Home service and announced a seven-year project in 2011 aimed at delivering FTTH to the company’s subscribers.
• 400G Photonic Service Engine (PSE) electro-optics chip used in trial is capable of carrying up to 400 Gb/s of traffic. The 400G PSE accelerates network speeds fourfold to deliver the highest possible performance per wavelength.

Quotes:

Ron Styles, CEO of SaskTel,said: “This trial demonstrates the commitment SaskTel has to being a leader in broadband and providing the best and fastest communications network to our numerous stakeholders including consumers, government and our region’s diverse private industries. Because it utilizes our existing network, Alcatel-Lucent’ scalable solution will efficiently allow us to meet customer needs today and for those in the future as well.”

Alex Giosa, President of Alcatel-Lucent Canada, said: “Our 1830 PSS solution has been enabling customers to effectively transform their networks to address increasing demands for high speed broadband for several years.  The combination of the 1830 PSS enhanced with the new 400G PSE which we have trialled at SaskTel will allow us to continue to provide the kind of transformative solutions our service provider customers require to meet their customers ever growing needs for faster and faster connectivity.”

Additional Resources

• 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS): http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/products/1830-photonic-service-switch
• 1830 PSS Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alcatel-lucent/sets/72157633002583988/with/8560053764/
• 1350 Optical Management System (OMS):http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/products/1350-optical-management-system
• 400G Photonic Service Engine (PSE): http://www3.alcatel-lucent.com/400g-pse/
• 400G: Paving the way the world’s first commercial 400G coherent solution (video): http://www3.alcatel-lucent.com/400g-pse/media/introducing-alcatel-Lucent-400g-pse.html
• AON More than Moving Light Web Page: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/solutions/agile-optical-networking

About SaskTel
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation (SaskTel) is the leading full service communications provider in Saskatchewan, with $1.2 billion in annual revenue and over 1.4 million customer connections including over 607,000 wireless accesses, 492,000 wireline network accesses, 250,000 internet accesses and 97,000 Max™ (TV) subscribers.  SaskTel offers a wide range of communications products and services including competitive voice, data, internet, entertainment, security monitoring, messaging, cellular, wireless data and directory services. In addition, SaskTel International offers software solutions and project consulting in countries around the world.  SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have a workforce of approximately 4,000 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Visit SaskTel at www.sasktel.com.

Michelle Englot, SaskTel Director of External Communications
+1 306.777.4476

michelle.englot@sasktel.com