PARIS, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) announced today that it has acquired Velocix, a leading global provider of Content Delivery Network (CDN) infrastructure and services to Internet and broadband service providers and media and entertainment companies.

CDNs optimize digital distribution over the Internet by replicating popular video and rich media content to geographically dispersed networks of delivery servers. This allows user requests for content to be served more rapidly and reliably from these local delivery servers rather than from a single source.

With the acquisition of Velocix, Alcatel-Lucent brings a new, unique value proposition to network operators struggling to support their customers' demands for high-performance delivery of rich media content - technology solutions for localized caching, as well as metro and regional/national overlay CDN services that enable ISPs and content providers to establish mutually beneficial commercial agreements, said Melanie A. Posey, Research Director, Hosting Telecom Services, IDC.

The acquisition of Velocix brings Alcatel-Lucent an enabling CDN infrastructure solution for Internet Service Providers and a wealth of experience and expertise that complements its existing technology and business initiatives. Velocix has a proven track record of constant innovation and advancement in Content Delivery Network technologies. The company was first to market a turn-key solution - Velocix Metro - that allows Internet and broadband service providers to deploy their own advanced delivery capabilities to support their digital content initiatives.

This acquisition strengthens our leading-edge portfolio of products and services in a key strategic area. Combined with our integration capabilities, it fits nicely into our Application Enablement strategy and our vision of the 'high leverage network' that supports it. It also demonstrates our company's commitment to investing in the capabilities, know-how and technologies needed to effectively support the rapid evolution towards a video-centric world - with maximum reliability and optimal quality of experience, said Philippe Keryer, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Carrier product group.

Velocix, with demonstrated strength in video and multimedia content delivery technologies, the highly distributed nature of their network architecture, and the skills and expertise of their team made them an ideal fit for Alcatel-Lucent, Philippe Keryer added.

We are very excited at becoming part of Alcatel-Lucent and the opportunities that this will give Velocix and its customers, said John Lee, Chief Executive Officer at Velocix. The acquisition is a great fit for both businesses, fully leverages our achievements to date and adds the strategic backing of a major corporation that is well positioned to shape the future of digital content distribution.

About Velocix

Velocix is a UK headquartered Content Delivery Network (CDN) solutions and services provider to the media, entertainment, software and telco industries.The Velocix global network provides an Internet fast lane for digital assets such as video, music, software and games. With Velocix, high quality streamed video plays uninterrupted from start to finish and file downloads complete without failure in a fraction of the time.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

SOURCE: Alcatel-Lucent

Velocix Press Contact: John Dillon, Chief Marketing Officer, Velocix, Tel: +44-1223-395-915 marketing@velocix.com. Alcatel-Lucent Press Contacts: Régine Coqueran-Gelin, Tel: +33(0)1-40-76-49-24, regine.coqueran@alcatel-lucent.com. Kurt Steinert, Tel: +1-908-285-1641, ksteinert@alcatel-lucent.com. Alcatel-Lucent Investor Relations: Rémi Thomas, Tel: +33(0)1-40-76-50-61 remi.thomas@alcatel-lucent.com. Tom Bevilacqua, Tel: +1-908-582-7998 bevilacqua@alcatel-lucent.com. Tony Lucido, Tel: +33(0)1-40-76-49-80 alucido@alcatel-lucent.com. Don Sweeney, Tel: +1-908-582-6153 dsweeney@alcatel-lucent.com