Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) says Shanghai Telecom has selected Alcatel-Lucent's IP/MPLS solution for its metro area network expansion and network optimization in the city of Shanghai.

"Market demand for advanced data services in Shanghai is increasing at an extremely fast pace," said Zhang Weihua, chairman of Shanghai Telecom's board. "IP/MPLS is the strategic direction for network transformation and will help us meet the high expectations of our customers. We believe Alcatel-Lucent's premium IP/MPLS solutions and experience in network transformation will give us a significant advantage as we move to the next phase of our network infrastructure."

Once complete, subscribers of Shanghai Telecom will be able to enjoy a broad suite of premium IP-based services with higher quality and greater flexibility. This contract was won through Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's flagship Chinese company. Shanghai Telecom has approximately nine million subscribers creating a huge demand for advanced data services. To meet these requirements and anticipate future growth, Alcatel-Lucent will provide Shanghai Telecom with a state-of-art IP/MPLS solution including its 7750 Service Router and 7450 Ethernet Service Switch.

Once deployed in mid-2007, Shanghai Telecom will be able to offer IP-based services with the Quality of Service required to meet service level agreements for Layer 2 Virtual Private LAN Service as well as Layer 3 IP VPN services, and next-generation network services in the future.