February 23, 2010 – Alcatel-Lucent today announced that Pannon GSM Távközlési Zrt (Pannon), a leading Hungarian mobile operator and member of the Telenor Group, has selected an all-IP solution from Alcatel-Lucent to unify its mobile core network and its existing IP/MPLS-based mobile backhaul infrastructure.  By transforming the entire network to IP, Pannon is preparing for the anticipated surge in mobile traffic and laying the foundation for the future introduction of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

Pannon serves some 3.6 million customers and controls approximately 33% of the Hungarian mobile market.  Today, Pannon’s high-speed 3G/HSPA network, which enables video telephony and other applications, is available in 563 towns and villages across Hungary, meaning 63.5% of the country’s population.  In response to the growing demand, Pannon needed an MPLS-based solution that was cost effective and could grow as their business grows.

“The success of our 3G services is driving the demand for new and higher-speed services. To meet the resulting traffic growth, we needed to transform our infrastructure into a simpler network architecture ensuring cost-effectiveness and the highest quality in service delivery” said György Koller, chief technical officer of Pannon.  “With Alcatel-Lucent’s solution, we will evolve profitably towards the next generation of wireless broadband, while preparing for more advanced services such as LTE.”

“Pannon is the first operator in Hungary to deploy homogenous common IP network for both the mobile core and backhaul network,” said Thomas Kropik, managing director Alcatel-Lucent Hungary.  “By selecting an all Alcatel-Lucent solution, Pannon is able to build on its existing hardware and network management solution, allowing end-to-end service visibility throughout its country wide mobile network.  Alcatel-Lucent’s High Leverage Network approach gives Pannon a scalable, next generation, all-IP, multiservice infrastructure which reduces network complexity and minimizes operational expenditures.”

Alcatel-Lucent is delivering the industry's most comprehensive and integrated mobile solution, from the IP core through to the cell tower.  The Alcatel-Lucent solution includes the 7750 Service Router (SR), 7705 Service Aggregation Router (SAR) and the 5620 Service Aware Manager. The Alcatel-Lucent portfolio of IP/MPLS products delivers a strong foundation on which a family of packet solutions for mobile networks is delivered.  These solutions support reliable, scalable, future-proof, cost-efficient and fully-managed transport allowing mobile operators to take full control of their network and quickly enable the delivery of advanced, revenue-generating new services. Alcatel-Lucent also is providing comprehensive professional services including consulting, network design, project management, integration, installation, commissioning and maintenance as part of the agreement.