Alcatel Brings SPEED TOUCH Home and SPEED TOUCH Pro ADSL Modems to Market;.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 1999--

Service Providers Can Now Offer Fastest Internet Access

and Greater Choice to Business and Residential Customers

Alcatel, the world's leading ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) vendor(1), has announced today the commercial introduction of its ground-breaking SPEED TOUCH(TM) Home and SPEED TOUCH(TM) Pro ADSL modems -- part of its SPEED TOUCH(TM) portfolio of ADSL products launched at CeBIT 99.

Traditional modem technologies have reached their practical limits while Internet applications demand ever-increasing access speeds. The Alcatel SPEED TOUCH ADSL modem family overcomes these limitations. SPEED TOUCH devices offer data rates up to 200 times faster than a conventional 33.6 Kbps modem, delivering up to 8 Mbps downstream from the Internet to the desktop computer and 640 Kbps upstream, while simultaneously maintaining a conventional voice telephony line.

Alcatel SPEED TOUCH Home

This is the new generation of Alcatel's existing highly successful Alcatel 1000 ANT modem -- currently the world's most successful ADSL modem -- with a smaller footprint and a more streamlined design. Targeted at the single residential user, SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) and small branch office user, the SPEED TOUCH Home also supports up to eight PCs connected to the Internet via a single ADSL line.

SPEED TOUCH Home may be used in "always on" mode where the connection, once established, remains in place regardless of the status of the PC. Alternatively, it may be used in the more familiar "dial-up" mode, supporting dynamic connectivity to multiple destinations (e.g., ISP and company LAN), through the standard dial-up networking interface.

Alcatel SPEED TOUCH Pro

The Speed Touch Pro is designed for more demanding, LAN-based environments. A fully fledged router, the Speed Touch Pro incorporates IP routing and LAN security features. Multiple LAN users may connect via the SPEED TOUCH Pro to the Internet, or a corporate network, through one or more service providers -- simultaneously via a single ADSL line, and independently of other users on the LAN. Remote configuration facility provides ease of installation for end users.

Moreover, for the SPEED TOUCH Pro, a subscriber needs only one IP address from the service provider to support multiple LAN users, as the device offers seamless IP address translation.

Alcatel's Martin De Prycker, President of Alcatel's new Internet Access Division, said, "With the advent of commercial shipping of the SPEED TOUCH Home, service providers now have a smooth migration path for their subscribers from the Alcatel 1000 ANT, while the SPEED TOUCH Pro, targeting primarily telecommuters and LAN users, extends the functionality -- with additional security and optimized IP address use. It confirms Alcatel's long-term commitment to ADSL CPE for fast Internet access, high-bandwidth applications, corporate network access and LAN interconnect."

Availability

Both products will be available in July 1999, and will be released in both ANSI T1.413 iss2 and in G.Lite versions.

(1) Ryan Hankin Kent, a leading U.S.-based telecommunications market research firm, January 1999.

Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 21.3 billion ($25.0 billion), Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel at http://www.alcatel.com or the US Web site at www.usa.alcatel.com. Contact for Alcatel Investor Relations, (US) Michael Haase, 972/519-6855, [e-mail].

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) transforms an operator's existing copper twisted- pair investment into a multimedia broadband distribution system. ADSL systems enable the existing copper pair to carry several megabytes' data plus a separate, simultaneous voice line. Telecommunications operators are rolling out ADSL to offer a low-priced broadband service, in competition with providers such as the cable industry and its cable modems. Broadband services are targeted by ADSL, since broadband increases the revenue per line and per customer.

Operators and service providers have the choice of offering a wide range of services to subscribers connected to a single type of ADSL DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) ranging from very high to medium bit-rates.

An active contributor to the various standards bodies creating ADSL standards, Alcatel continues to work to ensure mass-market availability of high-speed Internet access based on a single, standardized ADSL technology.