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Euronext Paris) - Alcatel and DoCoMo Engineering jointly hosted the first "3G Indoor Coverage Forum" in Tokyo
(10/03/04 10:32 CET)


Paris, March 10, 2004 - Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) and DoCoMo Engineering Inc., a 100% subsidiary of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. Japan, announced today that they jointly host the "3G Indoor Coverage Forum" in Tokyo, Japan, on March 9th to 10th, 2004. This Forum gathers 24 international
mobile operators from 18 countries.

In the context of the current UMTS uptake, the main purpose of this Forum was to support 3G operators so that they can accurately address the right challenges (investments, traffic and revenue boost) of the 3G indoor coverage. Such enhancement is indeed essential as new services introduced by 3G, like visio-conference, will require high capacity and excellent end-user Quality of Service in indoor areas such as high-rise buildings, underground and shopping centers.

On one hand, DoCoMo Engineering Inc. is demonstrating to the international
operators participating in the Forum, the reality of NTT DoCoMo's FOMA®,
the world's first commercial 3G mobile communications service based on
W-CDMA technology. During an operational tour in downtown Tokyo, each
operator could experience key 3G FOMA® applications, including i-mode®, a
high-speed packet transmission service at speeds of up to 384 kbps, in different indoor conditions. This illustrated some of the DoCoMo Engineering's technological advances and patterns applications.

On the other hand, leveraging its international reach and its deep knowledge of European and Asian mobile operators' deployment needs, Alcatel is proposing a process to adapt and integrate DoCoMo Engineering's know-how into 3G worldwide indoor implementations. This comes on top of Alcatel's
well-established GSM experience, of its current partners' portfolio management, like RFS and LGC Wireless, and of its turnkey project
capabilities for cost-effective configurations deployments.

Masami Yamamoto, President of DoCoMo Engineering Inc. said, "NTT DoCoMo has been building up relationships with worldwide operators in order to promote
FOMA®, the world's first commercial 3G mobile communication service based
on W-CDMA technology. DoCoMo Engineering contributes to such promotion of
W-CDMA by supporting vendors around the globe, especially for indoor
engineering." He added, "We consider that the global market now needs to be
more seamless and wireless. This is why Alcatel and DoCoMo Engineering
jointly hosted the 3G Indoor Coverage Forum in Tokyo as an activity for 3G indoor promotion. We expect Alcatel's global marketing know-how and
experience and our 3G indoor field experience will contribute to the
success of tomorrow's 3G global market."

Paolo Semenzato, director of mobile radio access systems, technology and
engineering of TIM, the leading mobile operator in Italy, stated, "Even if European countries usually focus much more on outdoor coverage, the
continually expanding and international business centers, shopping malls
and train stations in Europe will require top level indoor service conditions from the very beginning." He added, "As such, the cooperation on 3G indoor coverage which was demonstrated during this Forum between Alcatel and the DoCoMo Group in Japan is of prime importance for 3G services
implementation in Europe."

Cliff Woo, deputy managing director & wireless networks director of Hutchison 3G Hong Kong, Ltd., stated, "Operating cellular networks in the highly dense metropolitan area of Hong Kong, we at Hutchison have been working in the past years for the provisioning of superb indoor coverage for both 2G and 3G." He added, "The combination of Alcatel's and DoCoMo's 3G indoor coverage skills and know-how shown during this Forum will surely help us to get the best compromise between technical constraints and economical advantage, which will result in a key differentiating position."

Marc Rouanne, chief operating officer of Alcatel's mobile communications
activities said, "The 3G indoor engineering concept is a key initial step of Alcatel's larger vision for end-user indoor behavior. Our customers now expect intercontinental seamless, wireless, and broadband services. As such, this partnership between Alcatel and the DoCoMo Group, focusing on today's and tomorrow's fixed and mobile telecom visions, consolidates the transfer of experience which, for months, Alcatel has been promoting between Japan and the rest of the world."

FOMA and i-mode are registered trademarks of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries

About DoCoMo Engineering Inc.
With sales of YEN 43 billion in FY 2003, DoCoMo Engineering ,Inc. continues
to carry out its operations within the vast scope of mobile communication, including construction, operation, and maintenance, data processing, and
development of new technologies, as the technical support of NTT DoCoMo.
DoCoMo Engineering, Inc. strives to lead the way in the IT age.

About IMCS
IMCS (In-building Mobile Communication System) is a name of the system
which has been developed by NTT DoCoMo Inc. Japan for providing
telecommunication services in the closed area. This service is provided for
mobile phones and PHS in closed areas such as underground facilities,
inside building etc. The service is made available by connecting radio base
station located in underground or inside building with NTT DoCoMo's mobile
and PHS network through leased circuit. Then the radio base station is linked to antenna located in several locations in closed area via coaxial cable, optical fiber etc.

About Alcatel
Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers,
Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and
video applications to their customers or to their employees. Alcatel leverages its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks,
applications and services to bring value to its customers in the framework
of a broadband world. With sales of EURO 12.5 billion in 2003, Alcatel
operates in more than 130 countries.

Alcatel is now the world's fastest growing GSM/GPRS and EDGE supplier.
Alcatel has established a dominant position in today's expanding emerging
markets, where it is now the leader, with a 25% share. Alcatel's diversified portfolio of over 150 mobile operators includes a strong segment of greenfield operators - in Central & Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa & the Middle-East - which are poised for the most rapid expansion. Alcatel's highly efficient business model implemented through its Evolium? radio & core solutions - GPRS and EDGE ready, has significantly contributed to this success. Alcatel offers mobile operators a GSM 800, 900, 1800 and 1900MHz end-to-end solution offering, including radio access and core network systems, services platform and mobile terminals. Moreover, the company is expanding its offering in advanced
applications and services. Alcatel's application portfolio leverages and extends the value of telecom networks. Alcatel's Open Service Delivery Engine is the ideal applications environment based on next generation IN and J2EE technology. It enables the implementation of a wide range of applications such as network proxies, WAP or SMS gateways, messaging solutions such as UMS or MMS, 0800 and 0900 services, mobile or fixed VPN solutions, a complete and convergent real-time payment chain. Alcatel's UMTS solutions are a reality today, with more than 20 UMTS pilot networks delivered in Europe and in Asia. Evolium SAS, the Alcatel-Fujitsu joint venture, delivers a mobile infrastructure that is 3GPP-compliant, field-proven and capitalizes on Japanese 3G technical and field experience.

Source : Alcatel

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