Alcatel-Lucent helps Tampnet enhance communications for North Sea oil and gas facilities

New IP-based system will address dramatic increase in data traffic and provide greater operational reliability as Tampnet expands its communications network to serve more facilities in the region

Paris, February 15, 2012 – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) has been engaged by Norway’s Tampnet to enhance the flexibility and resilience of its high-capacity communications network serving oil and gas exploration and production facilities both offshore and onshore in and around the North Sea.

Tampnet’s large offshore communications network provides critical connectivity for customers’ operations, including remote support to help automate operations on the platforms. It also provides connectivity services for the Norwegian and UK air traffic control as well as for customers’ administrative traffic including email, Internet, intranets and other business applications.

Tampnet’s parent company, HitecVision, recently acquired North Sea Communications, which managed an extensive fiber optic network throughout the region. As a result of this acquisition, Tampnet’s network now serves nearly 100 oil and gas platforms and five onshore locations including Stavanger in Norway and Aberdeen and London in the UK. With more locations and increasing traffic, Tampnet needed to update its existing communications network and move to a more efficient Internet Protocol/Multiprotocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS)-based solution.

Alcatel-Lucent’s leading IP/MPLS solution will provide the superior speed, bandwidth and service capabilities needed to ensure operational efficiency across Tampnet’s expanded network. Tampnet will gain the resilience and flexibility required to quickly route its customers’ traffic from the offshore sites back to the onshore facilities. In case of any undersea fiber cable issues or platform outages, real-time monitoring of the network will ensure that traffic can swiftly be re-directed to alternative routes, so that there is no interruption in customer service.

Per Helge Svensson, President of Tampnet said: “Redundancy and robustness is of great importance due to the remote locations of the equipment and our customers need a high-quality communications network to enhance the efficiency of operations. With new and improved high-capacity data services, Alcatel-Lucent’s IP/MPLS solution will enable us to serve the oil and gas industry even better.”

Robert Malm, Managing Director of Alcatel-Lucent in the Nordics and Baltics said: “This agreement with Tampnet is significant for Alcatel-Lucent in the Nordics as it highlights the importance of our IP portfolio to the expanding offshore energy business. Alcatel-Lucent has deep-rooted experience in establishing high-performance, reliable communications networks for customers such as Tampnet and we are pleased to help the company reduce network complexity and costs as it expands its business.”

Under the agreement Alcatel-Lucent will provide its 7750 Service Router and 7705 Service Aggregation Router portfolio as well as the 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM) and 5650 Control Plane Assurance Manager (CPAM), all suited to the demanding requirements of the oil and gas industry due to their high resilience and performance

About Tampnet

Tampnet operates the largest offshore high capacity communication network in the world, carrying traffic for approximately 100 oil and gas producing platforms in the North Sea.

Pioneering the industry, Tampnet has developed a high capacity, resilient and low latency communication network of fiber backbone cables and radio access links, serving both the Norwegian and the UK sectors of the North Sea. The goal is to become the preferred offshore network provider, and the company is constantly expanding the infrastructure and improving the services and capacity.

Tampnet was established in 2001 by Statoil. In August 2010, HitecVision acquired Tampnet to further develop the company in the North Sea and on the Global Arena in order to enable its clients to fully implement their collaboration and Integrated Operations strategies.

Tampnet is an authorized telecommunications operator in Norway and in Australia.

About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)

The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leading innovator in the field of networking and communications technology, products and services. The company is home to Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost R&D organizations, responsible for breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Alcatel-Lucent is committed to making communications more sustainable, more affordable and more accessible as we pursue our mission – Realizing the Potential of a Connected World.

With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The Company achieved revenues of Euro 15.3 billion in 2011 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.

For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow the Company on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.

Contact the Alcatel-Lucent Press Office:    press@alcatel-lucent.com