Paris, Tokyo, September 4, 2000 - Following the May 2 announcement that
they would create a joint company for the development of future-generation mobile communications network systems, Alcatel and Fujitsu Limited have finalized agreements for the founding of EvoliumTM SAS, an Alcatel-Fujitsu company established under French law and headquartered in Velizy near Paris. Alcatel and Fujitsu respectively hold a 66% and 34% share in the new company.
The official agreement was signed today in Paris by Jean-Pierre Halbron,
President and Chief Financial Officer of Alcatel and Hiroaki Takeichi,
Member of the Board & Network Systems Group President of Fujitsu Limited,
in the presence of Serge Tchuruk, Chairman and CEO of Alcatel.
Under the terms of this agreement, EvoliumTM SAS will benefit from more than 2000 engineers provided by Alcatel and Fujitsu from their existing technological teams in France, Japan, Germany, Belgium and China.
EvoliumTM SAS will be responsible for product definition and R&D of 2G and 3G mobile radio communications networks, including GSM and its various evolutions (GPRS and EDGE). A special emphasis is being placed on the
development of a 3G/UMTS offering that is highly competitive in terms of
performance and time to market. These UMTS solutions will be largely
based on Fujitsu's experience acquired as supplier to NTT DoCoMo in
Japan, which will commence the commercial operation of its 3G mobile
communication service in the spring of 2001.
"EvoliumTM SAS will enable Alcatel-Fujitsu to have a UMTS offer ahead of the
competition", stated Jean-Pierre Halbron, President and Chief Financial
Officer of Alcatel. "Observers agree that UMTS infrastructure represents
a market estimated at 60 billion dollars over the coming 5 years. This
agreement will enable us not only to strengthen Alcatel's position in
the area of GSM infrastructure but also to be one of the major players
in 3rd generation mobile communications systems with the aim of winning
a market share in excess of 15%."
The first 3G-service offering (UMTS - R'99) will be commercially available
in Europe during the first half of 2001. Extensive field trials networks
will be delivered to operators in Europe as of the 4th quarter 2000. A
demonstration network has already been travelling throughout Europe
since June.
The products will be marketed via the existing Alcatel and Fujitsu sales
networks taking advantage of the respective strengths of the both
companies. Alcatel will focus on the market corresponding to the
worldwide GSM footprint, while Fujitsu will mainly address the Japanese
market and some dedicated accounts in Asia-Pacific. In China Alcatel and
Fujitsu intend to work closely together in marketing the EvoliumTM
products.
In parallel, Alcatel and Fujitsu will deepen mutually-beneficial cooperation
in the field of 3G core networks, terminals and applications in order to
provide customers with comprehensive end-to-end solutions. In the
framework of an OEM agreement, Fujitsu will distribute the mobile core
networks solutions developed by Alcatel.
Hiroaki Takeichi, Member of the Board & Network Systems Group President of
Fujitsu Limited, added: "Through EvoliumTM SAS, the partnership with mobile operators throughout the world will enable us to further enhance our leading-edge expertise in 3G mobile applications and services,
acquired with NTT DoCoMo."
To achieve these goals, EvoliumTM SAS will make full use of the skills of the existing two teams. Martin Jordy, currently Vice-President Product Management & Product Development of Alcatel Mobile Communications
activity will be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Eisuke Iwabuchi,
General Manager of Fujitsu's Mobile Communications and Wireless Systems
Division the Deputy CEO. The Board of Directors of EvoliumTM SAS will comprise 4 representatives from Alcatel and 2 from Fujitsu.
Michel Rahier, President of Alcatel's Mobile Communications activities who
will also serve as EvoliumTM SAS Chairman, pointed out, "This agreement rewards the 6 months of groundwork carried out by the Alcatel and Fujitsu teams to set up the foundations of a truly operational joint
company and a long-term partnership. By the 4th quarter 2000, mobile
operators will get in hand the outcome of the tremendous work carried
out for several months by the Alcatel and Fujitsu joint technical teams,
in the shape of UMTS field trial networks"
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
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 (US$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 unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet
to help its customers succeed. Altogether, the Fujitsu Group has
188,000 employees and operations in over 100 countries.
Internet: http://www.fujitsu.com/
Fujitsu: The Possibilities Are Infinite