Smile and Alcatel-Lucent to Expand Availability of 4G Services in Africa

Network launch in Tanzania to be followed by extension of mobile broadband network to Uganda

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is to enable the African wireless service provider Smile to introduce 4G mobile broadband services to several more sites in Tanzania, and Uganda, extending the agreement signed earlier this year between the companies for the provision of lightning-fast LTE services in Tanzania.

With the growing number of affordable smartphones and other mobile computing devices on the market in Africa, more and more people in the region are using them for access to social networking sites, Internet browsing and e-mail, online gaming and video viewing.

To meet this demand, Smile will now expand the availability of these services to Uganda using 4G LTE technology from Alcatel-Lucent. Consumer and business customers served by these new sites will have access to the new services via broadband routers in homes and offices as well as public places such as shopping malls and Internet cafes.

Tom Allen, COO Chief Operating Officer of Smile, said: “4G LTE mobile broadband has the potential to transform economies and lives. New video and Internet-based services will connect people, while allowing businesses to communicate to a wider audience, opening up new revenue streams. Smile will continue to innovate across Africa, to bring faster speeds and greater quality mobile broadband to meet all our customers’ business and social communications needs.”

Daniel Jaeger, Vice-President of Alcatel-Lucent activities in Africa, said: “We are very pleased to work with Smile to extend their 4G LTE services in Africa. With the delivery of new in-demand services, Alcatel-Lucent’s LTE solution will allow Smile to grow their business and, at the same time, develop mobile broadband further in this economically burgeoning region.”

About Alcatel-Lucent’s 4G LTE solution for Smile
Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its end-to-end 4G LTE network operating in the 800 MHz frequency band. Alcatel-Lucent will provide its leading services expertise including integration of its 4G LTE equipment with other vendor’s existing network equipment and network maintenance.

As global Internet demand continues to rise, Alcatel-Lucent is providing operators such as Smile with a clear, efficient broadband evolution path. Alcatel-Lucent’s innovative lightRadio™ portfolio is designed with this in mind, and provides a framework for wireless networks that offer lightning fast data speeds while reducing operating costs and power consumption.