Alcatel-Lucent bags $10m AAPT deal

Alcatel-Lucent has bagged a $10 million deal with AAPT to provide routing hardware and services at the network edge, the next step in AAPT's network overhaul.

(Credit: Alcatel-Lucent)

AAPT has been consolidating its network platform with Powertel's, the carrier which it bought for $357 million last year, in order to increase the capacity and flexibility of the overall network.

The Alcatel-Lucent terabit service routing portfolio, to be incorporated in the AAPT network by May 2009, will help AAPT offer more services and higher performance to customers while reducing the amount of physical space required for equipment, according to Alcatel-Lucent.

"This strategic investment with Alcatel-Lucent is the next step in the process to cement AAPT's position as Australia's telecommunications provider of choice and follows our $20m MPLS [Multiprotocol Label Switching] core implementation earlier this year," AAPT CEO Paul Broad said in a statement, referring to a deal with Cisco earlier this year to provide a new core and distribution network.

"It's about delivering a broader suite of products and services for the business community with the surety of a consistent, reliable and straightforward customer experience. We know if we're easy to use, we'll be easy to choose," Broad continued.

According to a spokesperson for AAPT, the linchpin for the deal was Alcatel-Lucent's service access manager, which will automate provisioning and help locate exactly where network problems occur, freeing up resources which had previously had to spend hours locating the problem.

The deal will also standardise AAPT's network with that of parent Telecom New Zealand, allowing better provisioning and servicing of trans-Tasman customers. Telecom New Zealand selected Alcatel-Lucent in July to roll out a nationwide IP network.