October 10, 2006 - Alcatel has announced that it has been selected by Telefonica to provide solutions for its access, Metro Ethernet, IP edge and optical transport networks in Latin America, claiming to enable Telefonica to offer new high-bandwidth interactive services to its residential and corporate customers.

"Our selection of Alcatel as technological partner is based on their broadband, optical and IP service routing market leadership and experience as well as their long-term collaboration with our Group. They inspire us with the confidence we need to ensure that our clients can enjoy the new services demanded with the required quality and reliability", stated Horacio Acerbi, Director Services Technology, Telefonica Internacional (Telefonica Latin America).

Michel Rahier, President of Alcatel's fixed communications activities said, "Telefonica is leveraging Alcatel's unparalleled experience in triple play deployments worldwide. Our network infrastructure, based on IP-based industry-leading solutions, is reinforcing Telefonica's worldwide leadership in advanced communication and entertainment services. This success also strengthens our position as partner of choice in such strategic network transformations".