October 09, 2007

Alcatel-Lucent to Help SFR Migrate to IP/MPLS Transport Backbone

By Niladri Sekhar Nath, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) plans to enable France-based mobile phone operator SFR, to migrate its voice traffic along with its data services on a next generation backbone by providing a core IP/MPLS network. The IP network transformation will provide SFR with a flexible and secure platform for national voice and data communications.

"As a leader in service innovation, our strategy is to strengthen our ability to handle the expected increased demand for voice and new advanced services at an affordable price," Paul Corbel, CTO of SFR, said. "Alcatel-Lucent's IP/MPLS network, which is part of their META (Mobile Evolution Transport Architecture) solution to all-IP, will effectively enable us to deliver the innovative and converged solutions that our customers across France are demanding."

Leveraging the Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS core network will enable SFR to offer a new set of differentiated mobile broadband services, full network Quality of Service (QoS) on a service-by-service basis. Furthermore, the core MPLS network based on the Alcatel-Lucent IP solution will help SFR improve on CAPEX and OPEX (News - Alert) through the efficiencies of IP-based technology, according to Corbel.

The IP/MPLS core network solution is based on Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS). These IP products have advanced high availability features and non-stop routing that will help SFR migrate existing services onto the same common platform. The 7750 Service Router and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch (ESS) are part of Alcatel-Lucent's Mobile Evolution Transport Architecture (META).

"Alcatel-Lucent addresses one of the biggest challenges faced by mobile operators: dropped calls. With our enhanced IP/MPLS routing portfolio we can address mobile carrier requirements for increased network reliability and very high Quality of Service,” said Olivier Picard, president of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in Europe and  South America. “Alcatel-Lucent is a strategic partner for SFR supplying solutions for 2G, 3G, WiMAX, microwave and optical transport, and HLR, and is now strengthening that partnership as the sole supplier for its IP/MPLS nation-wide backbone."

The SFR solution will have the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware (News - Alert) Manager as well to provide intelligent service management capabilities that ensure reliability and end-to-end quality.

Niladri Sekhar Nath is a contributing writer for TMCnet covering telecommunications, service providers and networking. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

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(source: http://internetcommunications.tmcnet.com/topics/broadband-mobile/articles/12150-alcatel-lucent-help-sfr-migrate-ipmpls-transport-backbone.htm)