France : Alcatel-Lucent announced that after obtaining all the regulatory approvals, its UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) equipment has been certified by RATEL, a Serbian Regulatory Authority. Consequently this equipment is approved for deployment in future third-generation (3G) networks in Serbia.

This certification demonstrates Alcatel-Lucent's ongoing commitment to delivering best-in-class advanced wireless communications to the fastest growing markets.

Alcatel-Lucent supplies its GSM/EDGE solutions to the leading mobile operators in Serbia and the Balkans, including Vip mobile in Serbia, which is part of the mobilkom austria group.

Since 2007, Alcatel-Lucent has been mobilkom austria group's strategic supplier of GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) equipment. Serbia is among the first countries targeted for deployment of this advanced technology.

"The mobile segment is developing rapidly in Serbia, and we are ready to support local service providers in their future move towards 3G to offer advanced mobile data services to their customers," said Johan Vanderplaetse, President of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in CIS, Central and Southern Europe.

Alcatel-Lucent's UMTS radio access solution enables operators to introduce HSPA capabilities through a simple software upgrade, enabling the operator to encourage more data usage at a minimal additional cost. Alcatel-Lucent's multi-standard radio access solution enables operators to reduce the total cost of ownership when operating both GSM/EDGE and UMTS technologies.

Alcatel-Lucent is a leading player in the GSM/EDGE market with more than 180 customers in over 90 countries, and a global leader in the development and deployment of third-generation (3G) networks, having deployed commercial 3G (UMTS/HSPA and CDMA/EV-DO) systems for more than 70 operators worldwide.