ALCATEL LAUNCHES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ORCKIT COMMUNICATIONS LTD.

Geneva, 13 October 1999 — Alcatel today announced that its US company, Alcatel USA, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Orckit Communications Ltd. and Orckit Communications, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In the complaint, Alcatel alleges that Orckit is infringing Alcatel’s patent entitled « Method to Synchronize Data and a Transmitter and a Receiver Realizing Said Method, » one of Alcatel’s numerous patents relating to ADSL technology. Alcatel, a leader and innovator in ADSL technology, has a significant patent portfolio in the field, including a number of patents to be issued.

NOTES TO EDITORS

International market research : Alcatel is Number One in ADSL : According to the project ESS update 39 : Broadband Access systems in Public Networks from market research firm Dittberner Associates, Alcatel dominates the ADSL-DSLAM (equipment at the operator’s site) market worldwide, with 49% of the total number of ADSL lines installed. No other vendor commands more than 15% in this area.

From a Customer Premises Equipment perspective, Cahners In-Stat’s August 1999 report (Q2 99 Analogue and Digital Modem Market Analysis) noted that Alcatel led the market in ADSL modem’s shipped with 33% market share worldwide.

In a separate development, a new survey from the international market research company Dataquest has also ranked Alcatel as the world leader in the overall supply of ADSL equipment - both terminals and switch ports. In its Worldwide xDSL Market Share and Forecast 1999, Dataquest reports that Alcatel was the ADSL market leader and remained the largest company in the overall market for calendar 1998. Its research revealed that ADSL accounted for 57.5% of total xDSL revenues in 1998.

About Alcatel

Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 21.3 billion ($25.0 billion), Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.

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