• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy
• Books

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Thomas K. Thomas

New Delhi, April 2 Communications technology major Alcatel Lucent is diversifying its product portfolio to cater to new verticals including the defence sector, utility companies and the metro rail projects in various cities. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Vivek Mohan, President, Alcatel Lucent, said, “We are looking at new ideas and innovations to apply communication technology beyond the core telecom sector. We have been looking at new verticals over the past few months and are in the process of undertaking some projects.”

For example, in the utility sector, Alcatel Lucent has developed a smart meter which enables consumers to keep track of their power consumption, usage trends and the tariffs online though a Web-based portal. The company has partnered with North Delhi Power Ltd and Bangalore-based BESCOM to start a pilot project using the new meter for which a proof-of-concept has been prepared.

For the defence sector, Alcatel Lucent is looking to build secure communications network. It has already built a CDMA-based exclusive network for the defence forces in Jammu & Kashmir. “This was a challenging project as we had to lay the network right up to the international border. There were instances wherein our engineers had to face bullets while setting up the infrastructure. We are looking to do similar projects for the defence forces elsewhere,” said Mr Mohan.

In the traditional telecom space, Alcatel Lucent is expecting to close a large contract over the next few weeks. It is already managing Reliance Communications GSM and CDMA network across the country, making it one of the largest project for Alcatel Lucent worldwide. “If we get the new contract we will be at par with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens in terms of market share in India. Right now India is among the top five markets for Alcatel Lucent and our aim is to make it among the top three,” Mr Mohan said.

The company is also looking to leverage its strengths in software development to bring out innovative applications for telecom users.

More Stories on : Outlook | Telecommunications

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line