9 September 2005

Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; Mr. Dayanidhi Maran, Honorable Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology; Mr. G. K. Vasan, Honorable Member of Parliament; and Mr. Serge Tchuruk, Chairman and CEO of Alcatel today inaugurated the CDOT Alcatel Research Center.

September 9, 2005 

Alcatel and the Center for the Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the Indian Government's telecom technology development center, today announced a joint venture to design and develop products related to broadband wireless. The new company, called CDOT Alcatel Research Center, will be 51% owned by Alcatel and 49% by C-DOT. The former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, today inaugurated the joint venture in an event presided over by Mr. Dayanidhi Maran, Honorable Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology, in the presence of Mr. G. K. Vasan, Honorable Member of Parliament, and Mr. Serge Tchuruk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel. The Indian Union Cabinet approved the joint venture within five months of
the signing of the MoU between Alcatel and C-DOT, typifying the Government's commitment to e-governance and other IT initiatives in rural areas.

The Chennai-based joint venture company will be a global research and development center for broadband wireless products with a primary focus for rural, urban and suburban Indian markets, in compliance with the country's broadband requirement and spectrum allocation. This includes the end-to-end architecture and the radio access network based on Alcatel WiMAX 802.16e. The R&D facility will serve the fast-growing needs of the Indian market for broadband connectivity.

The joint development of the latest broadband wireless technologies will facilitate the industrialization and volume production of the WiMAX solutions in India, thus helping the telecom-manufacturing sector. This will include the integration of the systems in the core network, the applications platform, and the customer terminals adapted to the specifics
of the targeted markets, as well as the piloting and showcasing of newly developed technologies through the setting up of a technology reality center.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, said, "[This Joint Venture] is going to be a major step towards fulfilling the vision of the Government to improve quality of life of our people and put India on the map of developed countries. I am very confident that a joint venture between these two telecom giants is bound to result in the creation of most advanced and more importantly highly cost effective solutions that will be an impetuous to development of communication technologies for our rural masses, as well as for the urban users.

Mr. Dayanidhi Maran, Honorable Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology, said, "This Joint Venture between C-DOT & Alcatel marks the beginning of new era in the field of research & development and identifies manufacturing of technology of the future. We are all aware that broadband and wireless are two major mantras of providing Always ON, ubiquitous and seamless mobile global connectivity to the customers who have business requirements, individual needs and social necessities."

Mr. Serge Tchuruk, Chairman and CEO of Alcatel, said, "This joint venture is a significant milestone for us and it underscores Alcatel's commitment and faith in the continuing growth of the Indian telecom industry. It leverages the resources and expertise of both partners to deliver enhanced customer value. Under this Joint Venture, WiMAX will be the first R&D project to be implemented, and will also expand the portfolio to other broadband wireless technologies."