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Technology Stocks : Alcatel (ALA) and France -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael M who wrote (1841)	5/24/2000 9:46:00 PM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3891

ALCATEL WINS CONTRACTS WORTH EU35 MILLION FROM TITAN IN BENIN (The following is a reformatted version of an electronic mail press release issued by Alcatel.) ALCATEL IS AWARDED EURO 35 MILLION CONTRACTS IN BNIN Installation of the B?nin's first GSM network Paris, May 24 -- U.S. based Titan Corporation has awarded Alcatel a series of turnkey contracts for the supply and installation of telecom infrastructure in B?nin. The contracts, with a total value of Euro 35 million, are financed by a consortium of banks led by Africa Merchant Bank. The contracts include the deployment of a complete GSM network, a backbone fiber optic transmission link, and switching systems. The various contracted networks will be installed during the course of 2000. They will be operated by B?nin's national operator OPT (Office des Postes et T?l?communications), in the frame of a Build-Cooperate-Transfer (BCT) agreement. Further extensions of the contracts are being discussed. For what will be B?nin's first GSM network, Alcatel will supply its VOLIUM( global mobile solution featuring an Alcatel 1000 MSC switching mobile center, a base station controller (BSC), EVOLIUM base stations, a customer care and billing system (CCBS), SDH and PDH transmission links. Alcatel will also oversee the associated civil engineering. A pre-paid service based on an Intelligent Network solution and a voice mail service/short message service center (VMS/SMSC) complement the Alcatel solution. The network will be first installed in the capital Cotonou, and with already planned extensions in the North and the South, it will eventually have a country-wide coverage. A 430 km long fiber optic backbone transmission link will also link Cotonou to Parakou. This SDH link will help digitize the transmission network of the country. At a later stage, the link will be extended so that landlocked countries of the region can access the capacities that will be offered by the SAT3/WASC submarine network that will also be supplied by Alcatel. Finally, Alcatel 1000 switching systems will be installed in Parakou and Savalou to modernize the current fixed network. Gene W. Ray, Chairman and CEO of Titan Wireless, said : © We have selected Alcatel for their intimate understanding and knowledge of the African countries as well as for their capacity to offer global network solutions that are both proven and adapted. î Alain Nicolas, Alcatel's Vice-president for Western and Central Africa, added : © This contract reinforces our leading position for GSM networks in Africa ; particularly, in Western Africa where practically every country has adopted our solutions. It also demonstrates our unique ability to offer end-to-end infrastructure solutions whether for fixed or mobile. More importantly, it gives us the opportunity to develop a partnership with a first-rank group such as Titan. î *SAT3/WASC is an undersea cable network in the Atlantic nearly 14.000 km in total length which will bring high quality international connectivity to ten countries in Africa. It will be completed in 2001. For more information, please Contact: Klaus Wustrack Tel: + 33 (0)1 40 76 11 56 Klaus.wustrack@alcatel.fr International Media Edward Lloyd or Simon West Barrington Lloyd International Tel: + 44 (0) 1799 506 187 Edward,Lloyd@bli.co.uk Investors relations Claire Pedini Tel: +33 (0)1 40 76 13 93 Claire.pedini@alcatel.fr Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane Tel: +33 (0)1 40 76 13 30 Charlotte.laurent-ottomane@alcatel.fr Emmanuel Spite Tel: +33 (0)1 40 76 16 04 Emmanuel.spite@alcatel.fr Peter Campbell Tel: +1 972 519 4347 peter.campbell@usa.alcatel.com