Alcatel-Lucent has been selected to build Altalink's new, improved IP communications network linking 270 substations throughout Alberta.

Alcatel-Lucent's Internet Protocol/Multiprotocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) solution will support AltaLink in improving its power-system management and enabling more efficient electricity delivery.

The new network will support mission-critical electric utility applications and data requirements throughout AltaLink's service territory, and enable AltaLink to continue to evolve its internal data networks to offer customers electric power when they need it, at the most economical price and highest reliability possible.

AltaLink expects the pilot to be completed by mid-year, resulting in live data traffic being processed in the summer and marking the start of the technology deployment that will occur over the next five years.

Alcatel-Lucent will supply products from its Service Router (SR) portfolio, including the 7750 Service Router and 7705 Service Aggregation Router - all managed end-to-end by the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager and 5650 Control Plane Assurance Manager, in addition to professional services and network maintenance. AltaLink also will deploy the Alcatel-Lucent VPN Firewall Brick, as well as the Alcatel-Lucent 6855 Hardened LAN switch, a Gigabit Ethernet switch specifically built for IP network deployments where environmental operating conditions are unusually demanding.