Alcatel, the French telecom equipment provider that sells mainly into the ADSL and LMDS market, will soon be moving into the wireless LAN side of connectivity. In a deal with Quebec-based Colubris Networks, Alcatel will soon be making its own branded hotspot hardware.
The WLAN services Alcatel will provide will be complements to existing GSM/GPRS and UMTS service offerings, providing WLAN public access to existing mobile network customers.
Alcatel and Colubris have already partnered on other opportunities in Asia and Europe.
Colubris makes WLAN hotspot solutions that integrate virtual private network (VPN) connections as well as firewall security.
In the announcement, Alcatel’s President of Mobile Networks, Marc Rouanne, said, “We are very pleased to enter this partnership with Colubris which will allow us to complement our fixed and mobile access solutions portfolio with an innovative and secure Wireless LAN access solution.”