contract with Brasil Telecom, a leading integrated communications service provider in Brazil, to provide Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services for the carrier internal plant (including wireless, wireline and data networks), as well as their outside plant. This project reinforces the strategic partnership between Brasil Telecom and Alcatel-Lucent, and solidifies the company’s leadership in providing operations and maintenance services for fixed, mobile and data networks in Brazil.

This contract represents a milestone in Latin America as no other company in the region is responsible for the whole infrastructure of an operator. Brasil Telecom is pioneering this field by selecting an experienced supplier as its partner to simplify and expand its business.

Based on the agreement Alcatel-Lucent will take care of 100 percent of Brasil Telecom infrastructure, including detailed O&M for the operator’s wireless network (voice, data and core); switches and transmission (for fixed land line); data communications and ADSL (core and access); satellite platform; infrastructure (building, AC/DC energy, air conditioning, towers and poles); network management systems; and technical support for all levels.

“This is the biggest contract signed by Brasil Telecom in the last few years and we look forward to an exceptionally close working relationship with Alcatel-Lucent as we strive to bring out customers the most reliable and highest quality communications services available,” said Francisco Santiago, Brasil Telecom Operations Vice-President. “Alcatel-Lucent will take care of the whole operation and maintenance of our fixed-line and wireless telephony infrastructure and we trust their capacity for that. For us it’s a new way of working, creating a package of services that spans maintenance, engineering, installation and operations to attain OPEX and CAPEX reduction.”

Brasil Telecom is a leading telecommunications integrated services provider and frontrunner player involved in bundle fixed/mobile and broadband services in Brazil. With more than 8 million fixed line users and close to 4 million mobile subscribers, as well as more than 1.7 million ADSL broadband users, the operator’s services cover a large portion of Brazil, including the Federal District and the states of Acre, Rondonia, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias, Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande Do Sul. It also offers nationwide and international long-distance services.

This new contract encompasses network consulting and planning, network operations, optimization and maintenance. Alcatel-Lucent is the main equipment and solution supplier for Brasil Telecom and has also provided O&M services for the operator since 2002.

Alcatel-Lucent plans to create a centralized technical management center, implement process and organizational improvements between outside plant and internal infrastructure, and improve productivity at central management center level through application of workforce management, improving existing OSS (Operation System Support) tools to better apply fault correlation and automatic dispatching.

“This network services contract with Brasil Telecom builds upon our long-term relationship with them, which is built on trust, confidence and a spirit of partnership. Their decision to have a single partner responsible for the operation and maintenance of their network is quite visionary and is a pioneering strategy by the operator, both in Brazil and the region,” said Victor Agnellini, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s activities in the Caribbean and Latin America region. “We are committed on delivering the best services and an excellent experience for Brasil Telecom and its customers by ensuring the reliability and quality of the carrier’s entire infrastructure. And we look forward to welcoming the talented employees from Brasil Telecom who will be joining Alcatel-Lucent to ensure we can leverage their expertise to maintain the high quality of the service Brasil Telecom provides.”