Alcatel-Lucent's (ALU) IP routing solution has been selected by China Unicom as the foundation of a nationwide network transformation.

"Service providers are looking for solutions that provide a differentiating architecture to enable effective delivery of high quality next generation services," said Gerard Dega, president of Alcatel Shanghai Bell. "With our expertise in deploying state-of-the-art IP solutions, we will help China Unicom to satisfy its customers with the most flexible, scalable and highest quality IP services."

As a result of this deal, China Unicom will accelerate the delivery of IP-based premium voice, multimedia and VPN services. The network deployment will encompass 65 cities across 13 provinces in China and will be completed by the end of 2007. The project was secured through Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's flagship company in China.

The Alcatel-Lucent IP solution, based on its 7750 Service Router, will enable China Unicom to better serve its customers, as it expands its service offerings towards 3G. Alcatel-Lucent's solution will also support China Unicom's rapid increase in CDMA subscribers and newly-launched data services on its GPRS network. The solution provides massive scalability and critical Quality of Service features that support ever-growing bandwidth requirements and enable premium service delivery while simultaneously reducing operational complexity.