Alcatel-Lucent's New Mobile Wallet Service Places Operators in the Center of the Mobile Payment Equation

LAS VEGAS, March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CTIA -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) takes a step closer to replacing the physical wallet by announcing the Mobile Wallet Service (MWS), a complete solution that places the mobile operator in the center of the emerging mobile payment equation.  Unique in the industry, MWS leverages an operator's trusted network, to deliver consumer applications such as person to person payment, remote ticketing, proximity payment and m-commerce. All of these services are aggregated onto a single MWS platform, with the flexibility to scale based on consumer demand. MWS also allows third parties to develop and integrate new applications through an Application Enablement API. This "ready to offer" service empowers consumers to use their mobile phones to manage daily transactions such as payments, coupons, loyalty points and gift vouchers.

By bringing together bank/payment providers, applications and access devices, Alcatel- Lucent has created a new customer experience which can help operators to increase revenue, reduce subscriber churn and bring new services to market.  MWS builds on Alcatel-Lucent's previously announced partnership with Clear2Pay to collaborate on a mobile payment framework. Enhanced with building blocks for end to end transaction flow, the solution includes handset applications, a stored value account, gateways to banks and payment networks, links to an operator's billing system and a portfolio of access devices for proximity payment.

MWS is delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), a turnkey solution that places mobile operators at the hub of the mobile payment value wheel with minimal up-front costs. The innovative platform, commercialized by Alcatel-Lucent Ventures, can be customized to create unique experiences that are relevant for specific markets. For example, consumers in developed countries want the convenience of paying for goods and services from their mobile phones. In growth economies, MWS can be adapted to deliver money management services via a mobile device.

"Consumer tastes and technology can change in the blink of an eye," said Anthony Belpaire, General Manager, touchatag, Alcatel-Lucent Ventures. "Our approach allows operators to bring timely and relevant mobile wallet services to consumers, to scale with consumer demand and to dynamically add new applications."

"Mobile wallet solutions, like Alcatel-Lucent's, position mobile operators as primary providers of payments to their customers," said Samee Zafar, Director at Edgar Dunn & Company. "By providing the core customer account and related user tools, operators retain customers, strengthen customer relationships and reduce the biggest problem operators face – customer attrition."

Alcatel-Lucent will showcase the Mobile Wallet Service at the CTIA Tradeshow and

Conference, (March 23 – 25, 2010 Las Vegas, Nevada) Booth #2506.

About Alcatel-Lucent Ventures

The Mobile Wallet Service incorporates technology from touchatag, an Alcatel-Lucent Venture. Alcatel-Lucent Ventures is a strategic investment group inside of Bell Labs focused on the communications industry.  The team's investment strategy has three key aspects, incubation and commercialization of internal ventures, strategic venture capital investment and joint ventures. This strategic focus enables the team to tap into cutting edge research projects, invest in entrepreneurial start-ups and collaborate with innovators to commercialize ventures in line with operator and enterprise needs. For more information, go to http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/ventures.

About Alcatel-Lucent's Application Enablement strategy:

Application enablement is an industry vision and network approach that combines the trusted capabilities of network operators and the speed and innovation of the web to provide end users and enterprises what they demand: a richer and more trusted web experience and beyond. Through a strategic focus on application enablement, Alcatel-Lucent is helping its customers create new value by exposing their network capabilities in a managed and controlled way, facilitating  new  business  models  and  improving  return  on  investment. For more information, go to http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/application_enablement/

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris andNYSE: ALU) is the trusted transformation partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries such as defense, energy, healthcare, transportation, 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 15.2 billion in 2009 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

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