PARIS-Alcatel Corp. announced it has partnered with @rteria, a subsidiary of the Reseau de Transport Electricite, the French electricity transport system, to begin experiments with WiMAX technology to provide broadband data and video services to users within 20 kilometers of the WiMAX transmitters, which have been installed by Alcatel at the bottom of high-voltage pylons owned by RTE.
Alcatel said the experiments are to take place in the city of Trucktersheim, in the Alsace region of Eastern France, where the data will be transported on RTE’s fiber-optic network. Users will have broadband access to the Internet with symmetric data throughput of 2 megabits per second. Alcatel said potential users would include households, schools, libraries and City Hall.
“Alcatel contributes, thanks to this innovative project which benefits from the financial backing of the regional development delegation, to the action of RTE to help local authorities enhance their service to citizens and boost their economic development by providing solutions that bridge the digital divide,” said Michel Vaquin, senior vice president of integration and services activities at Alcatel.
