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Ikanos Communications: Belgian Advanced Broadband Network Wins 2009 Innovations Award From Global Telecoms Business

^{Published on 2009-06-16 16:07:37, Last Modified on 2009-06-16 16:08:55 - Market Wire}
 

LONDON--(Marketwire - June 16, 2009) - Belgacom, Belgium's leading telecommunications service provider, and three of the world's most innovative broadband equipment and semiconductor suppliers -- Alcatel-Lucent (PARIS: [ ALU ]) and (NYSE: [ ALU ]), Ikanos Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ IKAN ]) and Sagem Communications -- today were awarded the 2009 Innovations Award for Fixed Network Infrastructure by Global Telecoms Business magazine. Belgacom's Broadway Project includes the deployment of a high-speed broadband network for the delivery of advanced triple play services across Belgium. The hybrid fiber/VDSL2 network incorporates central office (CO) and customer premises equipment (CPE) semiconductors from Ikanos, IP digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs) from Alcatel-Lucent and residential gateways from Sagem Communications.

By using fiber and VDSL2, Belgacom is able to cost-effectively offer revenue-enhancing services. Belgacom's broadband infrastructure consists of more than 16,500 active street cabinet nodes throughout the country, allowing the service provider to cover 69 percent of Belgian households -- an uncontested leadership-position in the European Union. As a result, Belgacom is able to deliver two simultaneous high-definition Internet protocol television (HD IPTV) streams, voice and very fast Internet service on a sustained, video-grade bandwidth of 20 Mbps to the vast majority of its customers.

"We evaluated a large number of fixed network infrastructure deployments. With the ability to deliver video-grade bandwidth nationwide, Belgacom's fiber/VDSL2 network embodied the leadership we were seeking in our 2009 Innovations Award winner," said Alan Burkitt-Gray, editor of Global Telecom Business. "The combination of Ikanos-based CO and CPE gear from Alcatel-Lucent and Sagem Communications plays an integral role in enabling advanced triple play services, including HDTV, to homes throughout Belgium."

"The Broadway Project is the combination of a flexible network design, the coordinated roll out of more than 14,000 kilometers of fiber in the access network, and an incredibly efficient installation of thousands of VDSL2 cabinets across Belgium," said Patrick Delcoigne, director of Network Infrastructure Engineering for Belgacom. "Alcatel-Lucent supplied us with very high volumes of its Ikanos-based VDSL2 DSLAM on short notice, allowing us to activate our infrastructure at a rate that equaled one new VDSL2 cabinet every two minutes during the first quarter of 2008. And, Sagem's Ikanos-based VDSL2 home gateways are enabling us to continue connecting thousands of customers every week to advanced broadband services."

"Belgacom has been one of the first service providers worldwide to actively deploy VDSL2 technology in its fiber-to-the-node access network," said Jürgen Lison, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent's Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) product unit. "Thanks to Belgacom's ongoing innovations, Belgium ranks amongst the most advanced countries in the world in terms of high-speed broadband services, turning the country into one of the first real fiber nations."

Ikanos' Fx10050-5 chipsets enable the development of highly integrated, high-performance 48-port European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) line cards in Alcatel-Lucent's DSLAMs. In addition, Ikanos' high-performance products -- including the Fusiv® Vx160 processor and Fx™10050S-5 chipsets -- have been integrated into Sagem Communications' F@st 3464 residential gateway to provide wire-speed routing, voice over IP (VoIP), non-blocking wireless local area network (WLAN) and quality of service (QoS) functions for IPTV.

"We are very pleased that our gateway processors and VDSL2 chipsets are an integral part of the award-winning Broadway Project," said Mitch Kahn, vice president of corporate marketing for Ikanos. "By working closely with network equipment leaders Alcatel-Lucent and Sagem Communications, we're providing advanced broadband products that have enabled Belgacom to quickly and cost effectively roll out next-generation, feature rich, triple play services."

The Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards are designed to honor innovative projects involving telecommunications operators and service providers around the world, in association with their vendors and suppliers.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (PARIS: [ ALU ]) (NYSE: [ ALU ]) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions that deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: [ http://www.alcatel-lucent.com ].

About Global Telecom Business

Founded in 1993 and part of the Euromoney Institutional Investor group of publications -- Global Telecoms Business is the only magazine written specifically for the senior managers who run telecoms carriers worldwide. For more information, visit [ www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com ].

About Ikanos Communications, Inc.

Ikanos Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ IKAN ]) is a leading provider of advanced broadband semiconductor and software products for the digital home. The company's multi-mode VDSL2/ADSLx, network processor and other offerings power access infrastructure and customer premises equipment for many of the world's leading network equipment manufacturers and telecommunications service providers. For more information, visit [ www.ikanos.com ].

© 2009 Ikanos Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Ikanos Communications, Ikanos, the Ikanos logo, the Bandwidth without boundaries tagline, Fusiv, Fx, and FxS are among the trademarks or registered trademarks of Ikanos Communications.

All other trademarks mentioned herein are properties of their respective holders.