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Having set out a strategy last fall to support operators in their shift to Web 2.0 services, Alcatel-Lucent is now racing ahead with actual offerings. A key focus is its mobile advertising platform, and it has signed its first public customer, German cellco E-Plus, whose Gettings subsidiary will use the hosted service. The operator, which has 15m subscribers, will use ALU's platform to target its ads at targeted audiences using different vehicles, from MMS push to WAP to video. Consumers can opt in to ads - for instance, ALU says EPlus is using a tool that prompts customers to opt in when they check their prepaid balances.

The first contract follows ALU's expansion of its mobile ad portfolio to include the Advertising Selection Server, which is designed to help cellcos leverage one of their greatest competitive advantages over internet services, their deeply granular knowledge on the profiles of their subscribers. Rudi Broos, director of strategy and marketing for ALU's digital media and advertising group, told Telephony: "Alcatel-Lucent believes that mobile operators have value in the upcoming advertising or new media value chain. They can leverage the network intelligence they have, the customer intelligence they have."

The Ad Selection Server is offered as a turnkey or - as with E-Plus - a hosted platform, supporting campaigns that integrate and mix/match SMS, MMS and WAP, as well as push and pull ads. The advertiser gains an online user interface for inventory and campaign management plus there are APIs for integrating with third party services, profiling and billing systems.

ALU has high hopes of carrier programs that offer free calls or other incentives, in return for consumers giving up their profile information and agreeing to take specified numbers of ads. MVNOs like Virgin Mobile USA and Blyk in the UK have pioneered this approach and now larger cellcos are eyeing the opportunity, especially during a downturn, to target the "cash poor, time rich" (Broos' words) demographic to which mobile ads appeal.

ALU recently partnered with 1020 Placecast to add location targeted ads to its list of services, and it also added advert insertion technology for IPTV providers, as a step towards 'three screen' integrated ad campaigns that span PCs, TVs and phones.

This strategy reflects ALU's belief in its ability to support fixed and mobile carriers and technologies as they all move towards IP, but despite this broad brush, it is also seeking to reduce its cost base further and prune activities that do not contribute to the key focuses on converged IP, quad play and carrier web services. To this end, the French giant is selling its global fixed line R&D arm and expects to complete a deal by the end of this quarter.

Sources told Telecom Asia that there are "several potential buyers" and that "the entire R & D of fixed line products of Alcatel-Lucent will be sold", following a global downturn in fixed line product revenues - and ALU's shift towards services. The unit houses R&D for the S12 and E10 switch lines, the MGC-10 media gateway controller, and others. R&D and supply chain costs in older product areas are to be cut as part of CEO Ben Verwaayen's turnaround plan, with some wireless ranges also likely to be hit.

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