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To: Regis McConnell who wrote (13850)	6/9/1999 10:11:00 AM
From: signist	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42804

(COMTEX) B: Alcatel SA Plans More Acquisitions B: Alcatel SA Plans More Acquisitions *Prabhu said the company also plans to buy expertise in optical networking. (How Many are left?) Jun 08, 1999 (Tech Web - CMP via COMTEX) -- Atlanta -- Alcatel SA plans further acquisitions to plug gaps in its Internet product strategy, said Krish Prabhu, president and CEO of the French equipment supplier's U.S. subsidiary, inremarks made here at SuperComm. Speaking at a press conference at the show, Prabhu said the company needed to "fill a few holes soon" in its portfolio of IP-based network products. "One of the most urgent areas is software for IP billing, customer configuration, and firewalls," he said. "We may make one or two pre-IPO acquisitions this year." The buying will not stop there. Prabhu said the company also plans to buy expertise in optical networking. "There's going to be a lot of activity in the core network when traffic from new broadband access networks builds up," Prabhu said. "When companies like AOL start pushing digital subscriber line to their some 20 million subscribers to keep them from going to cable companies, that's going to create a lot of growth." "The Baby Bells are pretty active too," he added. Prabhu said the DSL market was in a "trial phase" last year and will see some large deployments this year. "The DSL market may not take off until next year, but it's definitely going to take off," he said. Prabhu said one of the big drivers is the recent cable TV networks' acquisitions of AT&T. "The Bells are concerned about offering broadband access service," he said. "Almost all of them are making big investments in DSL, as are many operators in Europe." Alcatel has been on a U.S. buying spree for the past two years to get its hands on access technologies and IP expertise. In 1998, the company acquired the access and transmission equipment supplier DSC Communications Corp., followed this year by the purchase of Packet Engines Inc., Assured Access Technology Inc., and Zylan Corp. The company has also been increasing its U.S. sales, which are up from $500 million in 1995 to an estimated $4 billion this year. DSL sales will account for around 10 percent of these sales. In an interview with tele.com before the press conference on Tuesday morning, Prabhu said Alcatel remains committed to delivering core ATM switches. "We're seeing renewed interest in core ATM switches, particularly from the Bell companies," he said. "There is definitely a market for core ATM switches, but it's more limited today." Prabhu sees the lines blurring between ATM switches and IP routers. "We're seeing a lot of the big IP gigabit routers with built-in ATM features and vice versa," he said. "The quality-of-service issue is being tackled." At present, Alcatel doesn't supply LAN switches, routers, remote access, and edge ATM switches. The company plans to fill these product gaps this year, Prabhu said. Separately, Teleglobe Communications Corp., Reston, Va., announced that it has selected Alcatel to supply dense wavelength-division multiplexing technology for its planned European fiber-optic ring, which initially will connect the cities of London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, and Paris. Alcatel will light up 1,700 kilometers of dark fiber, recently acquired from Viatel Inc., delivering speeds up to 400 Gbit/s. -0- Copyright (C) 1999 CMP Media Inc. * end of story ***