Alcatel Lucent picked to manage Chorus' networks

A new five-year deal will see Alcatel-Lucent manage the copper and fibre telecommunications networks of New Zealand operator Chorus.

The deal includes round-the-clock monitoring and analysis of the Chorus' nationwide copper and fiber wholesale networks and the automation and replacement of Chorus' legacy systems and processes.
The services will provided from a new network operations centre, to be launched by communications minister Amy Adams in Hamilton today. Around 40 staff will work at the centre.
An Alcatel-Lucent spokesman said, this was a significant launch not just to support Chorus but as an opportunity to capture future growth in outsourced network operations in areas including broadband, the evolution towards 5G, IoT, M2M communications and non-telco markets.
Chorus owns New Zealand's copper network infrastructure and is currently deploying fiber under the government's ultra-fast broadband scheme to 830,000 homes and businesses.
The Hamilton facility will work with Alcatel-Lucent's global network operations centre in Bangalore, India, to provide monitoring, prevent faults, improve network availability and reduce network incidents.
Alcatel-Lucent is already a supplier of fixed access technology for the Chorus fiber network.