Paris, Tokyo, 2 May, 2000 - Alcatel and Fujitsu Limited today
announced their intention to join forces in the mobile
communications field by establishing a joint venture to develop
and manufacture next-generation mobile communications network
systems. The new company will be majority-owned by Alcatel, which
will hold 66% of the shares, with Fujitsu holding the remainder.
The agreement will aim to leverage the technological strengths of
both companies and maximize development efficiency and economies
of scale to attain a leading position in the Third Generation (3G)
mobile communications market, with special emphasis on developing
and quickly bringing to market a solid UMTS offering.
Benefiting from Fujitsu's strong experience with NTT DoCoMo in the
development of UMTS and capitalizing on the GSM and ATM/IP
expertise of Alcatel, the JV will have a timely first 3G offering
(UMTS - R'99) ready for deployment by first half 2001.
With more than 2000 engineers, the JV will concentrate on product
definition and marketing, research & development and manufacturing
policy for high-quality mobile communications radio infrastructure,
including GSM, its different evolutions including GPRS and EDGE,
and 3G (also known as IMT2000).
The JV will distribute its product offerings drawing on the
resources of Alcatel's and Fujitsu's sales organizations, with
Alcatel having primary responsibility for Europe in particular,
while Japan will be a preferred territory for Fujitsu.
In parallel, Alcatel and Fujitsu will deepen mutually beneficial
cooperation in the field of 3G core networks and terminals in order
to provide customers with comprehensive end-to-end solutions.
"This alliance is a major step forward for Alcatel's mobile
activities. The creation of an Alcatel-Fujitsu company, offers the
opportunity to have a UMTS offering ahead of the competition while
ensuring efficient and cost-effective use of R&D resources and
skills", said Jean-Pierre Halbron, Senior Executive Vice President
of Alcatel.
"This agreement allows each company to leverage their respective
expertise and complementarity to respond faster and more
effectively to customer requests for end-to-end UMTS solutions
encompassing radio, core network and terminal products", said Akio
Moridera, Executive Vice President of Fujitsu.
About Alcatel
Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated
end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and
new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With
120,000 employees and sales of EURO 23 billion in 1999, Alcatel
operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit
Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com
About Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) is a leading provider of Internet-based
information technology solutions for the global marketplace.
Comprising over 500 group companies and affiliates worldwide --
including ICL, Amdahl and DMR Consulting -- it had consolidated
revenues of 5.26 trillion yen ($49.6 billion) in the fiscal year ended
March 31, 2000. Fujitsu's pace-setting technologies, world-class
computing and telecommunications platforms, and global corps of over
60,000 systems and services experts make it uniquely positioned to
harness the power of the Internet to help its customers succeed.
Altogether, the Fujitsu Group has 188,000 employees and operations
in over 100 countries.
Home page: http://www.fujitsu.com/