Company Overview

About Alcatel-Lucent

LGS Innovations is an independent subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent dedicated solely to serving the U.S. Federal Government; LGS is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.  Building on its Bell Labs heritage, LGS Innovations delivers advanced multimedia/RF, cybersecurity, and photonics research and offers advanced networking and communications solutions.

Alcatel-Lucent provides solutions that empower service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide to deliver converged voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With more than 77,000 employees supporting operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach.

The company has one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations focused on communications—Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs—and the most experienced global services team in the industry. Alcatel-Lucent continues to invest heavily in R&D. That investment has led to industry leadership in the following technology areas: 

• #1 in Broadband Access with 39% of DSL market share1 and 30% of GPON1 
• #1 in Optical Switching with 32% market share2
• #1 in CDMA with 37% market share1
• #2 in IP Edge Routers with 20% market share3

Market shares in revenues for the full year 2009: (1) Dell’Oro Group (2) Ovum (3) Infonetics
That investment also led to more than 27,500 active patents (more than 2,150 obtained in 2009) and seven Nobel Prices in Physics (shared by 13 scientists).

Alcatel-Lucent History

The formation of Alcatel-Lucent created the world’s first truly global communications solutions provider, with the most complete end-to-end portfolio of solutions and services in the industry. Alcatel-Lucent transcends national borders, with an extensive, well-balanced global presence in terms of resources and revenues, and one of the largest and most innovative R&D capabilities.

At the Origin of Telecommunications

Alcatel-Lucent has been at the forefront of telecommunications since the birth of the industry in the late 19th century. The company’s roots span two continents and encompass two early pioneering companies — La Compagnie Générale d’Electricité (CGE) and the Western Electric Manufacturing Company.

Western Electric began in 1869 when Elisha Gray and Enos N. Barton started a small manufacturing firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. By 1880, the company had relocated to Chicago, Illinois and become the largest electrical manufacturing company in the United States. Western Electric was noted for its production of a variety of electrical equipment, including the world’s first commercial typewriters, telegraph equipment, and Thomas A. Edison’s electric pen.

In 1881, the American Bell Telephone Company — founded by Alexander Graham Bell and the forerunner to American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) — purchased a controlling interest in Western Electric and made it the exclusive developer and manufacturer of equipment for the Bell telephone companies.

La Compagnie Générale d’Electricité (CGE) was formed in 1898 by French engineer Pierre Azaria to compete against AEG, Siemens, and General Electric. Based in the Alsace region of France, CGE was an industrial conglomerate involved in various activities such as electricity, transportation, electronics, and telecommunications. CGE would become a leader in digital communications and would also be known for producing the “TGV” (train à grande vitesse) high-speed trains in France.

In 1925, Bell Telephone Laboratories was created from the consolidation of the Western Electric Research Laboratories, formed in 1907, and part of the Engineering Department of AT&T. Bell Labs would go on to generate some of the most significant scientific and technological discoveries of the 20th century, including the transistor, the laser, the solar cell battery, the digital signal processor chip, and the cellular concept of mobile telephone service. Bell Labs researchers also would garner seven Nobel Prizes.

Also in 1925, Western Electric sold its International Western Electric Company subsidiary to ITT Corporation. CGE strengthened its leadership in digital communications in the mid-1980s when it bought the telecommunications part of ITT and changed the group’s name to Alcatel Alsthom.

Changing and Expanding

The mid-1980s marked significant changes and expansion. Effective January 1, 1984, AT&T agreed to divest its local Bell telephone companies. As part of this divestiture, a new unit named AT&T Technologies (later to become Lucent Technologies), assumed Western Electric’s charter.

The 1990s were a time of realignment and refocusing on telecommunications. AT&T launched Lucent Technologies in April 1996 with an initial public offering. The spinoff was completed in September 1996 when AT&T distributed its shares of Lucent to AT&T shareowners. In 1998 Alcatel Alsthom decided to concentrate on the telecommunications industry—spinning off its Alsthom activities and changing the company’s name to Alcatel.

Alcatel made significant acquisitions in North America at the end of the 1990s and in the early 2000s. Acquisitions included: DSC in 1998; Newbridge and Genesys in 2000; Astral Point Communications in 2002; and Spatial Communications in 2005.

Looking Forward 

In 2006, facing an industry with intense competition and where operators were consolidating, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies announced plans to merge.

At the same time, Alcatel announced a deal to increase its shareholding and transfer its satellite subsidiaries, its railway signaling business, and its critical security systems domains to Thales, a key player in the French defense industry.

On November 30, 2006, the merger between Alcatel and Lucent was completed, creating the world’s first truly global communications solutions provider.

To continue a long-term strategy of being at the forefront of the ever-evolving communications market, Alcatel-Lucent has entered into several joint ventures and made strategic acquisitions in key technologies.

The company acquired Nortel’s UMTS radio access business to strengthen its leadership position in this technology at the end of 2006. During 2007, the company continued its focus on wireline technology, software, and services expertise with acquisitions of Canadian metro WDM networking supplier Tropic Networks, Inc.; enterprise services gateway products developer NetDevices; IPTV software company Tamblin; and the telecommunications consulting practice Thompson Advisory Group, Inc. In addition, Alcatel-Lucent acquired Motive, Inc., a leading provider of service management software for broadband and mobile data services in 2008.