JACKSON, Mississippi and PARIS, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Deployment Includes CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A technology and IP 
Routers for Backhaul

Cellular South, the nation's largest privately held wireless provider,
and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that
Cellular South has awarded Alcatel-Lucent a three-year agreement valued at up
to US$55 million in equipment, services and software to upgrade Cellular
South's network in Memphis, Tenn. and Jackson, Miss.

The network upgrade includes the deployment of third-generation (3G)
CDMA2000(R) 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) technology, which will enable
Cellular South to provide an enhanced mobile data customer experience.
Cellular South customers will experience increased data capacity and speed
for faster uploads and downloads, as well as new, enhanced mobile broadband
data services, which includes mobile video telephony, high-quality music and
other multimedia applications.

"Alcatel-Lucent will help in our continuous efforts to upgrade our
network," said Tony Kent, senior vice president of Engineering and Operations
for Cellular South. "Cellular South customers will be assured the most
advanced wireless technology which will provide unequalled voice and data
quality along with the CDMA technology that enables our customers to have
True Unlimited Nationwide calling."

In addition, Alcatel-Lucent will provide its industry leading IP/MPLS
solution, which includes the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router and 7450
Ethernet Service Switch, to deploy an IP routing and IP RAN backhaul
solution. Built on a single unified IP infrastructure, Alcatel-Lucent's
IP-based solution is designed to support multiple types of services with
superior scale, hierarchical quality of service and availability, which are
critical for ensuring subscriber Quality of Experience (QoE) for multimedia
applications. Alcatel-Lucent will provide installation, engineering, training
and technical support.

"Alcatel-Lucent has been a key infrastructure provider to Cellular South
and this agreement underscores the confidence they have in us to help lay the
groundwork for an all-IP network in the future," said Cindy Christy,
president of Alcatel-Lucent's North America business. "This agreement is
another illustration of Alcatel-Lucent's commitment to our customers and to
CDMA technology."

EV-DO Rev. A continues the evolution of CDMA2000 technology, bringing
increases in efficiency, data speeds and capacity to existing CDMA2000 1X and
1xEV-DO networks.

CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry
Association.

About Cellular South

Cellular South is the largest privately held wireless provider in the
U.S. The company is focused on providing the best service possible through
its nationwide wireless voice and data network, award-winning customer care,
state-of-the-art wireless devices, and commitment to the communities it
serves. Cellular South is now the nation's leader in m-commerce technology
availability and adoption with its' next-generation mobile payment products,
such as OboPay and Wireless Wallet. For more information, visit
http://www.cellularsouth.com.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that
enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver
voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in
fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies,
applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions
that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work
and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent
is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced
global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research,
technology and innovation organizations in the telecommunications industry.
Alcatel-Lucent achieved adjusted proforma revenues of Euro 18.3 billion in
2006 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris.
(All figures exclude impact of activities transferred to Thales). For more
information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet:
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

Alcatel-Lucent Press Contacts

    Régine Coqueran
    +33(0)1-40-76-49-24
    regine.coqueran@alcatel-lucent.com

    Mark Burnworth 
    +33(0)1-40-76-50-84
    mark.burnworth@alcatel-lucent.com

    Alcatel-Lucent Investor Relations

    Scott Ashby
    +33(0)1-40-76-29-90
    scott.ashby@alcatel-lucent.com

    Maria Alcon
    +33(0)1-40-76-15-17
    maria.alcon@alcatel-lucent.com

    John DeBono
    +1-908-582-7793
    debono@alcatel-lucent.com

    Tony Lucido
    +33(0)1-40-76-49-80
    alucido@alcatel-lucent.com

    Don Sweeney
    +1-908-582-6153
    dsweeney@alcatel-lucent.com

    Cellular South Press Contacts

    Jim Richmond
    +1-601-974-7504
    jrichmond@cellularsouth.com

    Liz Whelan
    +1-312-616-8394
    lwhelan@ckpr.biz